When we talk about who the United States owes, who are we talking about exactly? Here's the list of the 15 holders of U.S. debt.
- 15. Luxembourg - $87.2 billion
- 14. Depository Institutions - $107 billion (US banks, savings and loans, etc)
- 13. Russia - $119 billion (up from $35 billion in January 2008)
- 12. United Kingdom - $124 billion
- 11. Insurance companies - $126.4 billion
- 10. Brazil - $133 billion
- 9. Caribbean Banking Centers (Cayman Islands, etc) - $176.6 billion
- 8. Oil Exporters - $186 billion (Ecuador, Venezuela, Indonesia, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Gabon, Libya, and Nigeria)
- 7. Other Investors - $413 billion (bank personal trusts and estates, corporate and non-corporate businesses, etc)
- 6. Pension Funds - $456.4 billion
- 5. State and local governments - $517 billion (at the low end)
- 4. Japan - $634.8 billion
- 3. China - $739.6 billion ($811.3 billion if you count what we owe Chinese owned Hong Kong)
- 2. Mutual Funds - $769.1 billion
- 1. Federal Reserve and the Intragovernmental agencies - $4.806 trillion.
Julian Cook/March 25
Source:Source: US Treasury, US Federal Reserve & US Office of Debt Management