What Happens When You Leverage a 166-Year-Old Thesis? The Collapse of the Situational Awareness Fund [2026]

In late June 2026, Leopold Aschenbrenner, 24, was being treated as the next Warren Buffett. His fund, Situational Awareness, had just delivered +439% net in the first half—the best return of any large fund in the world. Five weeks later, the fund no longer existed: the entire public portfolio, long and short, was sold in a single block to Citadel, at a discount, after a cascade of margin calls.…