I think you have it backwards. Leverage is the ratio of your notional stake to your net equity. If you buy $200mm of Viacom with $100mm then you have $100mm o

I think you have it backwards. Leverage is the ratio of your notional stake to your net equity. If you buy $200mm of Viacom with $100mm then you have $100mm of debt. When it goes up 2.5X, you now hold $500mm stock and still have debt of $100mm -- net equity $400mm -- so your leverage becomes relatively small. In the Archegos case, a lot of their positions were swaps, so instead of outright ownership they held contracts with banks, but similar logic applies. The problems happen when the assets go down, not up.