Do Foreigners Really Own America?

Source: Business Insider

Comments

[JHM]

So is the key info there that 5.8% of US net worth is owned by foreigners? I think I would have maybe guessed more but if I think through it a bit more it shouldn't be surprising.

[Michael W. Kruse]

Yes. People often perceive it much higher.

The reality is that for many emerging nations the US is still the safest place to invest. Their own economies are not expansive and dynamic enough to provide for a good rate of return, so they invest here. That is good for the US in the sense that more capital is being put to work within our economy. But a side effect is that an abundance of capital tends to discourage Americans from saving and encourages them to borrow too much.

But that is another story. The big thing here is we are not losing control of country to foreign powers.