When the CEOs of trillion-dollar companies issue the same warning, investors may want to pay attention.
First, it was Tim Cook, the former CEO of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).
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"This is a hundred-year flood," Cook told The Wall Street Journal in an interview in June (1). "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, adding, "Biggest price jump in anything I've ever seen too" (2).
Musk also shared a Wall Street Journal article titled, "The Data-Center Boom Is Sparking a Third Wave of Inflation" (3). The article, which was published in late June, 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.
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.
That risk is particularly relevant as conflict in the Middle East puts more pressure on energy prices. With energy costs already elevated, BlackRock estimates that a prolonged war could add roughly 0.8% to global headline inflation — potentially giving consumers and businesses another reason to keep an eye on rising prices (5).
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, $100 in 2026 has the same purchasing power as just $11.74 did in 1970 (6).
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.
Read More: Vanguard reveals what's coming for U.S. stocks — and it could be bad news for this group of investors
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 127%, beating the S&P 500 index's 106% gains (7).
Other prominent voices see further potential.
"It could easily go to $5,000 or $10,000 in environments like this," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said last October (9).
Part of his prediction has already moved closer to reality. The precious yellow metal hit an all-time high of over $5,000 earlier in January.
Today, you can combine the recession-resistant properties of the precious metal with the tax advantages of an IRA by opening a gold IRA with the help of Newport Gold.
You can get free setup, shipping and storage for up to three years with Newport Gold's Liberty bundle. Plus, you can roll over your existing IRA or 401(k) into a precious metals IRA completely tax and penalty-free.
Even better? Newport Gold offers a streamlined buyback program with no fees, ensuring you can liquidate your holdings whenever needed, along with best-price assurance.
The best part? You can download their gold guide for free and get up to $20,000 in complimentary silver upon making a qualifying purchase.
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.
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 Arrived allow you to invest in shares of vacation and rental properties across the country with as little as $100.
To get started, simply browse through their selection of vetted properties, each picked for their potential appreciation and income generation.
Arrived distributes any rental income generated by properties to investors monthly, allowing you to potentially set up a passive income stream without the extra work that comes with being a landlord of your own rental property.
What's more, once you're an investor with Arrived, you gain quarterly access to their newly launched secondary market, where investors can buy and sell shares of individual rental and vacation rental properties directly on the platform.
The best part? For a limited time, when you open an account and add $1,000 or more, Arrived will credit your account with a 1% match.
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.
Accredited investors can now tap into this opportunity through platforms such as Lightstone DIRECT, which gives accredited investors access to 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.
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 alternative assets come into play for many investors. These can include everything from real estate and precious metals to private equity and collectibles.
With Willow Wealth, eligible investors can diversify beyond publicly traded stocks and bonds through private-market opportunities spanning real estate, private equity, private credit, art and litigation finance.
Minimum investments start as low as $5,000. You can select individual deals or opt for diversified funds, including funds managed by institutional firms such as Goldman Sachs, Carlyle and StepStone.
More than 500,000 members have invested over $6 billion through Willow and the platforms it has acquired.
Private investments can require long holding periods, carry higher fees and result in losses. See how Willow can put your money to work across a wider range of assets.
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The Wall Street Journal (1), (2); X (3); Bloomberg (4); CNBC (5); Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (6); APMEX (7); Fortune (8); S&P Global (9)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.