Burry's proposed "Milton's Opus" never got off the ground, after his investors met it with scepticism and outside institutions he approached went off to do the idea themselves.

Judged as of 2011-04-05. The claim has three parts: (a) 'Milton's Opus' was proposed by Burry and never got off the ground; (b) his investors were sceptical of it; (c) outside institutions he approached went off and pursued the idea themselves. True: the evidence supports all three. Mostly true: (a) holds and (b) and (c) hold in substance, with a minor detail differing, for example the investor reaction is described a little differently. Mixed: (a) holds, but one of (b) or (c) is not supported or is contradicted. Mostly false: (a) holds, but both (b) and (c) are contradicted, or the venture was partly launched (for example raised some capital or briefly operated) before folding. False: Milton's Opus did launch and operate as a fund or vehicle.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Michael Burry's Testimony Before The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission ValueWalk · 29 March 2011 Own record

   “Well that was my attempt to rapidly expand the size of my bet. So, it didn’t work and I wasn’t able to raise money for it.”

2. E2 Interview (2010) - Bloomberg w Michael Burry Scribd (upload of Bloomberg interview transcript) Own record

   “I tried to raise a Iund called Milton`s Opus to just do this because I wanted to do it in big size but I couldn`t get it going.”

3. E3 The Big Short: Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis LitCharts · 18 November 2021

   “None of his investors understand it, however, and it dies quickly.”

4. E4 The Big Short: Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis LitCharts · 18 November 2021

   “Later he confesses in a letter to investors that a lot of the fund’s money has already gone into credit default swaps, causing a backlash.”

Burry's own FCIC testimony and Bloomberg interview say Milton's Opus did not work and he could not raise money for it (E1, E2). An independent summary of The Big Short says it died quickly because none of his investors understood it (E3). That supports (a) and, in substance, (b). No evidence addresses (c), the claim that outside institutions he approached went off and pursued the idea themselves. E4 concerns his existing fund's credit default swap positions, not a launch of Milton's Opus.