🌅 Today’s stat: $1.78 trillion

SOURCE

Norges Bank Investment Management

WHAT TO KNOW

• The Norway Government Pension Fund Global is the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund (SWF), with a value equivalent to around $320,000 per citizen in 2024. The fund posted a record-breaking $220 billion profit last year—thanks largely to the U.S. tech stock rally—notching its second consecutive record-breaking year.

WHY IT MATTERS

• While Norway owns the world’s single most valuable SWF, China owns three of the 10 largest, meaning it’s home to the most SWF assets. Norway’s fund holds 1.5% of all listed stocks globally (investing in around 9,000 companies worldwide), making it the world’s largest single investor.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• Most of the world’s SWFs—which are a relatively new phenomena—were started with funds derived from oil and gas extraction, and Norway’s is no different. The country discovered one of the world’s largest offshore oil fields in the North Sea in 1969, establishing the fund 21 years later to manage the massive petroleum profits, starting with a $175 million investment in 1998.