Nassim Nicholas Taleb warned of an unpleasant surprise for investors: according to him, the generation of a near-zero interest rate has triggered a monumental series of asset bubbles and increased inequality in the world. Investors are unprepared for this because the Fed is raising rates to levels not seen in a long time, Bloomberg writes.

Taleb said that the current generation of investors has forgotten the importance of cash flow over the past 15 years as the financial crisis has caused a wave of “easy money.” He said cryptocurrency is a testament to the market’s naiveté after years of low interest rates.

“Assets have been insanely inflated all these years,” Taleb said. – It’s like a tumor, I think that’s the best explanation.”

By “tumor,” he means a wide range of assets, from bitcoins to real estate prices, that have soared in the low-interest-rate regime. He valued such illusory wealth at more than $0.5 trillion, predicting that the Federal Reserve will continue to raise rates.

He cited Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) as an example: the company is wasting cash. Taleb didn’t mention its CEO, Ilon Musk, by name, only noting the “brilliant financial mind” of Twitter’s buyer, who learned a harsh lesson: “Money rain is no longer forthcoming.”