Who is James Chanos and why is he predicting an economic crash in China? Chanos, 51, manages his hedge fund, Kynikos Associates. He has $6 billion dollars under management.

Chanos is not a newcomer to the world of short selling. He accurately predicted the collapse of Enron and several other shaky companies over the past several years. He is one of a breed of "short sellers." Short sellers sell before they buy, betting that their investment will drop in value so they can buy it back at a lower price, pocketing the difference in the falling prices.

Jim Chanos, the founder of Kynikos Associates and the renowned short-seller who was among the first to smell something funny at Enron, was interviewed by the Financial Times on Friday. His most recent high-profile short pick is bond rating firm Moody's Corp. (NYSE: MCO), which he says is "no longer a referee on the playing field, they are actually playing at this point. So although they are wearing an umpire's outfit, they have a Yankees hat on and I think that's the real problem, in that they are so entwined in the structured finance business."

Chanos opines on the private equity boom, hedge fund regulation, and explains how he knew to short PartyGaming (OTC: PYGMF), not long before its decline on news that the United States had banned online gambling.

Jim Chanos is one of the greatest investment minds of our time, and everyone who cares about his or her money should be an eager reader of what Chanos has to say. The top short-sellers are among the best investors in the world, and they get an undeservedly bad rap. These guys are the market's first line of defense against fraud, and it's time that they got a little more respect.