Don't Panic, Billionaire Thomas Peterffy Says: Tariffs Present 'Greatest' Buying Opportunity

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR) founder Thomas Peterffy sees the recent tariff shock as a generational buying opportunity, not a reason for panic.

What To Know: In an interview with Bloomberg, the 80-year-old billionaire dismissed criticism that President Trump's 104% tariff hike on Chinese imports should have been phased in more gradually.

Swift implementation is crucial to spur genuine reshoring and supply chain shifts, Peterffy argues.

"If these tariffs were just a future promise, people may not firmly believe it's going to happen,” he said.

U.S. stocks and Treasuries have been tumbling recently as the tariff-induced selloff wiped out trillions in equity capital.

According to Peterffy, the bottom is in, especially for American manufacturing and robotics sectors.

His firm's clients were net buyers of U.S. tech giants like Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA), Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) last week — with only China-based Alibaba Group Holding Ltd – ADR (NYSE:BABA) seeing net selling.

"This is the greatest opportunity I've seen in my nearly 60-year career on Wall Street to buy," he said.

What Else: Peterffy's bullishness comes amid growing skepticism about U.S. market resilience. Global investors are reevaluating the "American exceptionalism" thesis as equity and bond markets suffer parallel declines.

A 17-basis point spike in 10-year Treasury yields and a 3.5% drop in long-dated bond ETFs suggest even safe-haven assets are under pressure, with some institutions liquidating across the board to raise cash.

The escalating tariff war has further strained sentiment. China responded with its own 84% levy on American goods, threatening to destabilize global trade. While Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent downplayed systemic risk, he warned of a potential fallout if Beijing devalues the yuan.

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