The figures from the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund are still dizzying.
The 2023 vintage is no exception.
It is even accompanied by a record: never has this nest egg fueled by oil and gas revenues gained so much in one year: the added value amounted to nearly 200 billion euros (197 billion, or 2222 billion crowns).
For comparison, old-age spending in France's Social Security budget for 2024 amounts to 275 billion euros.
In total, the Norwegians' kitty, intended to benefit "current and future"
generations
in anticipation of the drying up of the oil windfall, amounts to 1,391 billion euros.
This is four times the annual GDP of the “Scandinavian petromonarchy”.
Invested in bonds and stocks
Each year, according to the rules established when the fund was created thirty-four years ago, the government can draw from it, without exceeding 20% of the budget.
This gargantuan thirst pear is invested in bonds and stocks, the latter in nearly 9,000 companies (8,859 precisely) across the planet.
It was the exceptional performance of tech, particularly the giants that investors have nicknamed the “Magnificent Seven” (Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla) that fueled the spectacular 16.1% return of the Norwegian fund.
Real estate investments have lost more than 12% of their value, but they represent less than 2% of the portfolio.
Not enough to undermine its very enviable profitability.