Ray Dalio, founder of the world's largest hedge fund, says the next financial crisis might play out like a slow burn, rather than the fast-moving meltdown in 2008.

"The next downturn is going to be different type of downturn," Dalio told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Tuesday. "It will be more severe in terms of the social, political problems. And it will be more difficult to handle. It won't the same in terms of the big-bang debt crisis."

On Monday, the Bridgewater founder put out a free book, "A Template for Understanding Big Debt Crises." He appeared Tuesday on CNBC to talk about the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis and how the next debt crisis might occur.



