"I own stocks," Nassim Taleb told CNBC Tuesday. "I don't trust Treasury bonds. I'd rather have a dividend than a coupon. I am afraid of hyperinflation. So I have no choice but to own stock and some real estate to preserve my financial situation."

He also has "some euros," because despite the bad press, "they know the problems in Europe" but the U.S. does not.

Taleb, who is in the process of updating his 2007 book, considers a "black swan" event to be something undirected and unpredicted. But he said the current U.S. economic problems have been years in the making, causing him to distrust the Obama administration, the Republicans in Congress and all the Republican presidential challengers — except Texas congressman Ron Paul.

"Only one candidate, Ron Paul, is saying the right things for the issues we are facing," Taleb said. "I'm a risk-based person. From my vantage point there's only one candidate representing the right policies."

Taleb said he believes in an America that is resilient. "You don't achieve that through bailouts," he said. "You need the economy to stay vital. You need a rate of failure. What is fragile should break early."