Pimco’s Gross: US in Worse Financial Shape Than Greece

Monday, 13 Jun 2011 01:50 PM
By Forrest Jones

The United States is in worse financial shape than Greece due to the amount of money needed to cover future liabilities, says Bill Gross, head of Pimco, the world's largest bond fund.

Lawmakers are debating raising a $14.3 trillion public debt ceiling to avoid an August default.

Unfunded liabilities owed to programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, however, surpass $50 trillion.

Add to that other debts such as those run up during the bailouts of the 2008 crisis, and the total comes to "nearly $100 trillion," Gross says.

Even if that estimate is on the high side, the country's debt issue is here to stay for a while.

"To think that we can reduce that within the space of a year or two is not a realistic assumption," Gross tells CNBC.

"That's much more than Greece, that's much more than almost any other developed country. We've got a problem and we have to get after it quickly."

Pimco manages more than $1.2 trillion in assets and runs the largest bond fund in the world.

Many other financial and economic experts have made similar warnings recently.

New York University professor Nouriel Roubini said during the weekend that a “perfect stormâ€