Elon Musk and Tim Cook issue the same red alert over new crisis in America — and it’s unlike anything they’ve ever seen

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When the CEOs of trillion-dollar companies issue the same warning, investors may want to pay attention.

First, it was Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).

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“This is a hundred-year flood,” Cook told The Wall Street Journal (1) in a recent interview. “I’ve never seen anything like it in any area in over 40 years.”

The warning came as Apple prepared to raise prices on its products to offset surging costs for memory and storage chips used in iPhones, Macs, iPads and other devices.

“Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable,” Cook said. “We’re doing our best to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we’ve been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable.”

Then came Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), who openly backed Cook’s assessment.

“Tim Cook, who told The Wall Street Journal that the jump in costs was unlike anything he had seen ‘in any area in over 40 years,'” Musk wrote in a post on X (2), adding, “Biggest price jump in anything I’ve ever seen too.”

Musk also shared a Wall Street Journal article (3) titled “The Data-Center Boom Is Sparking a Third Wave of Inflation.” The article warned that America’s artificial intelligence buildout is pushing up prices on everything from smartphones to electricity.

One chart in the article showed consumer prices for computer software and accessories have surged about 15% from a year earlier.

Cook declined to say exactly when the increases would hit, how large they would be or which Apple products would be affected. But consumers did not have to wait long for an answer.

On June 25, Apple announced (4) price increases for Macs and iPads by hundreds of dollars.

And Apple isn’t alone.

Other major device makers, including Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ), Dell (NYSE:DELL) and Nintendo, have already raised prices. The Wall Street Journal reported that prices for memory and storage chips have quadrupled since last year as demand surged.

Remember, Musk and Cook are not new to this world. They are tech industry veterans who have lived through shortages, cost spikes, shipping chaos and economic shocks.

Yet Cook is calling this a “hundred-year flood.” Musk says it is the “biggest price jump” he has ever seen.

For investors, that warning carries a deeper message: Headline inflation may have eased from its 2022 peak, but inflation is still a force that can move through supply chains, squeeze companies, raise prices and quietly erode the value of money.

Your paycheck may stay the same. Your bank balance may look unchanged. But the cost of maintaining your lifestyle can keep climbing.

That is the broader risk for Americans.

And you don’t need a “hundred-year flood” to see it. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (5), $100 in 2026 has the same purchasing power as just $11.74 did in 1970.

Cook’s flood may be hitting the tech supply chain. But the steady erosion of purchasing power has been hitting U.S. savers for decades.

That’s why many Americans are looking beyond cash and traditional savings when thinking about how to protect their purchasing power.

Below are three ways to fight inflation and insulate your portfolio against risk.

Own something the Fed can’t print

When it comes to preserving wealth and fighting inflation, few assets have stood the test of time like gold.

Its appeal is simple: unlike fiat currencies, the yellow metal can’t be printed at will by central banks. This inherently limited supply can help it store value.

Gold is also considered the ultimate safe haven. It’s not tied to any one country, currency or economy. In times of economic turmoil or geopolitical uncertainty, investors often flock to it — driving prices higher.

Ray Dalio, founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, has repeatedly highlighted gold’s role in a resilient portfolio.

“People don’t have, typically, an adequate amount of gold in their portfolio,” Dalio told CNBC last year. “When bad times come, gold is a very effective diversifier.”

Over the past five years, as inflation continued to chip away at the purchasing power of the dollar, gold has climbed 126%.

Other prominent voices see further potential. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has said that in this environment, gold can “easily” rise to $10,000 an ounce.

One way to invest in gold that can also provide significant tax advantages is to open a gold IRA with the help of Goldco.

Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, thereby combining the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it a compelling potential option for those wanting to ensure their retirement funds are diversified during rough economic times.

Goldco offers free shipping and access to a library of retirement resources. Plus, the company will match up to 10% of qualified purchases in free silver.

If you’re curious whether this is the right investment to diversify your portfolio, you can download your free gold and silver information guide today. Just keep in mind the gold is usually best deployed as one part of a portfolio.

Read More: Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can become a landlord for $100 — without the headache of actually being one

An income-producing inflation shield

But gold isn’t the only asset investors turn to during inflationary times. Real estate has also proven to be a powerful hedge.

When inflation rises, property values often increase as well, reflecting the higher costs of materials, labor and land. At the same time, rental income tends to go up, providing landlords with a revenue stream that adjusts for inflation.

Over the past ten years, the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index (6) has jumped by 87%, reflecting strong demand and limited housing supply.

Of course, high home prices can make buying a home more challenging, especially with mortgage rates still elevated. And being a landlord isn’t exactly hands-off work — managing tenants, maintenance and repairs can quickly eat into your time (and returns).

The good news? You don’t need to buy a property outright — or deal with leaky faucets — to invest in real estate today. Crowdfunding platforms like mogul offer an easier way to get exposure to this income-generating asset class.

As a real estate investment platform offering fractional ownership in blue-chip rental properties, mogul gives investors monthly rental income, real-time appreciation and tax benefits — without the need for a hefty down payment or midnight maintenance calls.

Founded by former Goldman Sachs real estate investors, the team hand-picks the top 1% of single-family rental homes nationwide for you. In other words, you gain access to institutional-quality offerings for a fraction of the usual cost.

Each property undergoes a rigorous vetting process, requiring a minimum 12% return even in downside scenarios. Across the board, the platform features an average annual IRR of 18.8%. Offerings often sell out in under three hours, with investments typically ranging between $15,000 and $40,000 per property.

Sign up for an account and browse available properties here to start investing today.

And if you want to go all in on real estate, there are more options available — especially for those with capital on hand seeking to carve out multiple slices from the same vertical.

For instance, Lightstone DIRECT helps accredited investors access single-asset multifamily and industrial deals.

Lightstone DIRECT’s direct-to-investor model ensures a high degree of alignment between individual investors and a vertically-integrated, institutional owner-operator — a sophisticated and streamlined option for individual investors looking to diversify into private-market real estate.

With Lightstone DIRECT, accredited individuals can access the same multifamily and industrial assets Lightstone pursues with its own capital, with minimum investments starting at $100,000.

Diversify beyond Wall Street

Prominent investors like Dalio often stress the importance of diversification — and for good reason. Many traditional assets tend to move in tandem, especially during periods of market stress.

That message feels especially relevant today. Nearly 40% of the S&P 500’s weight is concentrated in its ten largest stocks, and the index’s CAPE ratio hasn’t been this high since the dot-com boom.

This is where, for many investors, alternative assets come into play. These can include everything from real estate and precious metals to private equity and collectibles.

But there’s one store of value that routinely flies under the radar: It’s scarce by design, coveted worldwide and frequently locked away by institutions. It’s also globally recognized, meaning it has some protection from U.S. markets.

We’re talking about post-war and contemporary art — a category that has outpaced the S&P 500 with low correlation since 1995.

It’s easy to see why art pieces often fetch new highs at auctions: The supply of the best works of art is limited, and many of the most desirable pieces have already been snatched up by museums and collectors. That scarcity can also make art an attractive option for investors looking to diversify and preserve wealth during periods of high inflation.

Until recently, purchasing art has been a domain reserved for the ultra-wealthy — like in 2022 when a collection of art owned by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sold for $1.5 billion at Christie’s New York (7), making it the most valuable collection in auction history.

Now, Masterworks — a platform for investing in shares of blue-chip artwork by renowned artists, including Pablo Picasso, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Banksy — can help you get started with this asset class. It’s easy to use and, with 27 successful exits to date, Masterworks has distributed more than $65 million in total proceeds (including principal).

Simply browse their impressive portfolio of paintings and choose how many shares you’d like to buy. Masterworks then handles all the details, making high-end art investments both accessible and effortless.

New offerings have sold out in minutes, but you can skip their waitlist here.

Note that past performance is not indicative of future returns. Investing involves risk. See Reg A disclosures at http://masterworks.com/cd .

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Article Sources

We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.

WSJ (1), (3); @elonmusk/ X (2); Bloomberg (4); Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (5); SP Global (6); Christies (7)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.