In 1969, Norway discovered one of the largest offshore oil deposits in the world. The Ekofisk field changed everything. Suddenly, this small Scandinavian nation was sitting on extraordinary wealth. They could have done what most oil-rich countries do: spend it all immediately. Build monuments. Create economic bubbles. Enrich a few while the many suffer. And when the oil runs out, collapse into debt and instability. Nigeria tried that. Venezuela tried that. Libya tried that. Norway looked at these cautionary tales and made a different choice. In 1990, the Norwegian Parliament created the Government Pension Fund Global, managed by Norges Bank Investment Management and presently the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund. The rules were simple but revolutionary. All oil profits would flow into the fund. The fund would invest globally in thousands of companies. And Norway could only withdraw a small percentage each year—originally 4%, now 3%. The rest would stay invested. Forever. People thought they were insane. Why hoard money for people who don't even exist yet? Why not lower taxes, build bigger programs, enjoy the wealth right now? The Norwegian government had an answer: Because future Norwegians will exist. And they deserve this wealth as much as we do. In 1996, they deposited the first payment: $150 million. Then they did something even more remarkable. They stuck to the plan. Year after year, oil revenues flowed into the fund. Year after year, the fund invested in global markets—stocks, bonds, real estate across 70 countries. Year after year, politicians resisted the overwhelming temptation to raid the fund for short-term political wins. Every election cycle brought promises to spend more. Every economic downturn brought demands to tap the fund. Every crisis brought calls to break the rules "just this once." Norway said no. Every single time. The fund's managers didn't try to beat the market or gamble on hot stocks. They simply bought small stakes in thousands of companies worldwide—around 9,000 today—and held them. They played the longest game imaginable. By 2000, the fund was worth $50 billion. By 2010, it had grown to $500 billion. By 2017, it crossed $1 trillion. Today, it has surpassed $2 trillion. For a country of just 5.6 million people, that works out to roughly $340,000 per citizen. But here's the extraordinary part. More than half of the fund's value didn't come from oil. It came from investment returns. The fund now generates more income from its global investments than Norway makes from selling oil and gas. They transformed temporary oil wealth into permanent financial wealth. The fund owns approximately 1.5% of every publicly traded company in the world. It holds stakes in Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and thousands of other corporations. When you buy almost anything from almost any major company, a tiny fraction flows back to Norway. The 3% withdrawal rule ensures the fund will last indefinitely. That 3% provides roughly a quarter of Norway's national budget—funding education, healthcare, infrastructure, and pensions without ever depleting the principal. Norway's oil will eventually run out. Maybe in 30 years, maybe 50. It doesn't matter anymore. By the time the last barrel is pumped, Norway will have a multi-trillion-dollar fund generating returns forever. The genius wasn't in discovering oil. Lots of countries found oil. The genius was in the radical decision to save almost all of it, invest it wisely, and resist every political pressure to spend it immediately. It required vision to see beyond the next election cycle. It required discipline to follow the rules for three decades without exception. It required humility to admit that future Norwegians deserved this wealth as much as current ones. In 1996, they started with $150 million. Today, they have over $2 trillion—and growing. In 50 years, when Norway's oil fields are empty and the rigs are silent, Norwegian children will attend free universities, elderly Norwegians will retire with security, and the entire nation will thrive—all funded by oil that stopped flowing decades earlier. Because in 1990, Norway made a choice that most countries never make. They chose their grandchildren over themselves. #NorwayOilFund #GenerationalWealth ~Weird Wonders and Facts KR IRS 8226
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