From Business Insider

The TRUTH About Who Really Owns All Of America's Debt

Vincent Trivett | Jul. 20, 2011, 1:50 PM | 706,940 | 54

If you ever try comparing the debt situation in the US and Japan, someone will invariably say: Well, Japan can afford a lot more debt because it's all domestically owned, whereas US debt is owned by the Chinese.

It turns out this isn't really true, though unfortunately this destructive myth continues to dominate political/economic debates.

Yes, China holds a lot, but they're not dominant, and when you add it up, most debt is actually domestically held, just like in Japan.

Hong Kong: Total Holdings of US Treasuries: $121.9 billion

Percent of US Debt that they own: 0.9%


Caribbean Banking Centers: Total Holdings of US Treasuries: $148.3 billion

Percent of US Debt that they own: 1%

The Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Netherlands Antilles and Panama, and British Virgin Islands all function as offshore financial centers. Of course, they invest in Treasury Securities as well.


Taiwan: Total Holdings of US Treasuries: $153.4 billion

Percent of US Debt that they own: 1.1%


Brazil: Total Holdings of Treasuries: $211.4 billion

Percent of US Debt that they own: 1.5%


Oil Exporting Countries: Total holdings of Treasuries: $229.8 billion

Percent of US Debt that they own: 1.6%

Oil exporters include Ecuador, Venezuela, Indonesia, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Gabon, Libya, and Nigeria.


Mutual Funds: Total Holdings of US Treasuries: $300.5 billion

Percent of US Debt that they own: 2%


Commercial Banks: Total Holdings of US Treasuries: $301.8 billion

Percent of US Debt that they own: 2.1%


State, Local, and Federal Retirement Funds: Total Holdings of US Treasuries: $320.9 billion

Percent of US Debt that they own: 2.2%


Money Market Mutual Funds: Total Holdings of US Treasuries: $337.7 billion

Percent of US Debt that they own: 2.4%


United Kingdom: Total Holdings of Treasuries: $346.5 billion

Percent of US Debt that they own: 2.4%


Private Pension Funds: Total Holdings of US Treasuries: $504.7 billion

Percent of US Debt that they own: 3.5%


State and Local Governments: Total Holdings of US Treasuries: $506.1 billion

Percent of US Debt that they own: 3.5%


Japan: Total Holdings of Treasuries: $912.4 billion

Percent of US Debt that they own: 6.4%


US Households: Total Holdings of US Treasuries: $959.4 billion

Percent of US Debt that they own: 6.6%

The 'Household Sector' does include hedge funds, by the way.


China: Total Holdings of Treasuries: $1.16 trillion

Percent of US Debt that they own: 8%


The Federal Reserve: The Treasury owes the Fed $1.63 trillion in Treasuries, much of which were bought for the Quantitative Easing programs.

That's 11.3% of US debt, much more than China.


Social Security Trust Fund: Total Holdings of US Treasuries: $2.67 trillion

Percent of US Debt that they own: 19%

The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Funds invest exclusively in special issue bonds that are only available to the Social Security trust fund. These are not publicly traded securities, but they still constitute a huge amount of debt.

In all, the Treasury owes foreigners and foreign governments $4.514 trillion dollars

But Americans own most of their own country's $14,342,909,569,328.74 of debt.