Rick Rule: I Sold 80% of My Silver — Here's Why and Where I'm Putting It Now

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  January 20, 2026 at 15:01  |  59:40  |  Julia LaRoche Show
Speakers
Rick Rule — Founder, Rule Investment Media

Summary

Rick Rule argues the global economy is weaker than most believe, with oil and copper price action signaling soft demand. He sees US fiscal math as unsustainable and expects a dishonest default through inflation, making gold a long-term holding while real yields stay deeply negative. He sold 80% of his physical silver after its run to $75 and redeployed half into silver miners, where he sees leveraged upside if silver prices hold. He also discusses Fed policy, taxation, AI labor disruption, and Battle Bank's national rollout.

  • Rick Rule says commodity price signals point to weaker global demand.
  • He argues US liabilities and deficit math make inflation-driven default likely.
  • He remains bullish gold and sees silver likely outperforming gold over time.
  • He sold 80% of physical silver and moved half the proceeds into silver miners.
  • He prefers silver miners because earnings and NPV estimates lag current silver prices.
  • He warns gold will remain volatile with 30-50% drawdowns.
  • He criticizes wealth taxes and predicts policy-driven hollowing in New York City.
  • He provides an update on Battle Bank's national rollout and services.
Ideas
Rick Rule Founder, Rule Investment Media 0:00
Long gold as fiat purchasing power erodes.
Rick Rule believes gold has substantially further to run over time because precious metals perform well when savers and investors fear fiat purchasing-power deterioration. He argues the US government's on- and off-balance-sheet liabilities total about $160 trillion versus roughly $167 trillion of private net worth, while deficits add $4-5 trillion per year against about $5 trillion of gross federal revenue. That makes an honest default politically unlikely and a dishonest default through inflation probable. With real inflation running 8-10% and 10-year Treasuries yielding about 4.2%, fiat savings are guaranteed to lose purchasing power, so he continues to own gold. If the dollar loses 75% of purchasing power over a decade, he thinks gold could double, triple, or quadruple, though he warns of 30-50% drawdowns.
Rick Rule Founder, Rule Investment Media 0:00
Silver likely outperforms gold if gold runs.
If gold has further to run over time, Rick Rule thinks silver is likely to continue outperforming gold. His experience is that precious metals do well when savers and investors are concerned about deterioration in the purchasing power of fiat currency, and those fears remain real. He does not expect either metal to move with 2025's rapidity, but he expects silver's relative leadership to persist.
Rick Rule Founder, Rule Investment Media 3:39
Platinum and palladium precious metals still screaming.
Rick Rule says platinum and palladium, along with gold and silver, are absolutely screaming, and his bias is that this continues. The macro driver is ongoing investor concern about deterioration in fiat purchasing power; he considers those fears very real and supportive of precious metals.
Rick Rule Founder, Rule Investment Media 12:44
Avoid Treasuries on negative real yields.
Rick Rule argues that saving in a 10-year US Treasury at roughly 4.2% while true inflation is 8-10% means the investor is guaranteed to lose purchasing power. He views CPI as understating real inflation and expects the government to inflate away the net present value of its obligations, making nominal fiat-denominated savings instruments unattractive.
Rick Rule Founder, Rule Investment Media 20:57
Sold 80% physical silver after parabolic run.
Rick Rule sold 80% of his physical silver after it ran from about $20 to $75. He treated silver as the speculative portion of his portfolio: at $20 there was so much accumulated hate that when silver was no longer hated it could go to $50, but it went to $70. The speculation fulfilled its purpose. He views not selling at $75 as effectively equivalent to re-buying at $75, so he reduced physical silver exposure and redeployed capital elsewhere.
Rick Rule Founder, Rule Investment Media 21:28
Silver miners offer leveraged catch-up to metal.
Rick Rule redeployed half of his physical silver sale proceeds into silver mining equities because the miners have not kept pace with the metal. Wall Street and Bay Street earnings forecasts for silver producers are based on $35 silver, and valuations are predicated on $45 silver. If silver holds near current levels around $75, producers should generate large upside earnings surprises and starkly higher net present values. He considers himself a skilled silver stock speculator and sees better leveraged speculative return in the equities than in physical silver.
Up Next

This Julia LaRoche Show video, published January 20, 2026, features Rick Rule discussing GLD, Silver relative to gold, PPLT, PALL, 10-Year US Treasury, SLV, SIL. 6 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Rick Rule  · Tickers: GLD, Silver relative to gold, PPLT, PALL, 10-Year US Treasury, SLV, SIL