Steve Carell, right, plays Steve Eisman in The Big Short, a film about the financial crash of 2008

Leaver, Remainer or somewhere in between, it’s probably fair to say that for most Brexit has become a bit of a grind. Not so for Steve Eisman. It is, he believes, “the most interesting story on planet Earth right now”.

For the American investor, who won plaudits for predicting the causes of the financial crisis and fame after Steve Carell’s portrayal of him in The Big Short, Brexit is a fascination — and he has plenty to say about it.

“Brexit is a version of populism,” Steve Eisman, the American businessman, says HECTOR RETAMAL/GETTY IMAGES

As with the financial crash, he sees its origin in stagnating income: “I’ve thought for a long time now that the primary cause of the financial crisis was actually the lack of growth in income for normal people.

“The problem was evident in the