Which country owns the most US bonds?
With $1.1 trillion in Treasury holdings, Japan is the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt.
Of the total held by foreign countries, Japan and Mainland China held the greatest portions, with China holding 797.7 billion U.S. dollars in U.S. securities. Other foreign holders included oil exporting countries and Caribbean banking centers.
U.S. Treasury Bonds
In fact, Japan is by far the largest foreign owner of U.S. treasury securities, with Japanese banks, pension funds, insurance companies etc. holding a total of $1.138 trillion at the end of 2023.
As a result, totals from January 2023 are lower than reported. As of January 2023, the five countries owning the most US debt are Japan ($1.1 trillion), China ($859 billion), the United Kingdom ($668 billion), Belgium ($331 billion), and Luxembourg ($318 billion).
The yen has rebounded a bit over the past two weeks, suggesting that markets expect yields in Japan to keep rising. For all the focus on China, Japan is actually the top holder of U.S. sovereign debt, with a total of $1.1 trillion.
If China (or any other nation that has a trade surplus with the U.S.) stops buying U.S. Treasuries or even starts dumping its U.S. forex reserves, its trade surplus would become a trade deficit—something which no export-oriented economy would want, as they would be worse off as a result.
- Bermuda.
- Germany.
- Norway.
- Korea.
- Saudi Arabia.
- France.
- Singapore.
- Brazil.
It seems that Buffett has softened his stance. Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio includes a significant amount of short-term bonds, despite its leader's infamous public position. Speaking to CNBC's Becky Quick on Aug. 3, 2023, Buffett admitted: “Berkshire bought $10 billion in U.S. Treasurys last Monday.
With bonds down about 2% year to date as measured by key indexes, Buffett's approach is looking pretty good so far in 2024. On a personal level, Buffett isn't a fan of bonds either. He has about 99% of his wealth in one stock—Berkshire Hathaway.
Warren Buffett is often considered the world's best investor of modern times.
What country owes the US the most money?
With $1.1 trillion in Treasury holdings, Japan is the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt. Japan surpassed China as the top holder in 2019 as China shed over $250 billion, or 30% of its holdings in four years.
China is one of the United States's largest creditors, owning about $859.4 billion in U.S. debt. 1 However, it does not own the most U.S. debt of any foreign country. Nations borrowing from each other may be as old as the concept of money.
1) Switzerland
Switzerland is a country that, in practically all economic and social metrics, is an example to follow. With a population of almost 9 million people, Switzerland has no natural resources of its own, no access to the sea, and virtually no public debt.
And about a third, or 30%, of the publicly held national debt is owned by foreign countries and foreign investors. The biggest foreign holder of U.S. debt is Japan, followed by China.
The United States pays interest on approximately $850 billion in debt held by the People's Republic of China. China, however, is currently in default on its sovereign debt held by American bondholders.
"China's state-run banks likely dumped the dollar around the [Oct. 1] National Day," said a currency trader at a foreign bank, echoing the views of his peers. It appears that Chinese authorities urged state-run banks to shore up the yuan against dollars and they responded by selling Treasurys to raise needed funds.
Russia divested from all US bond instruments, the only debts the Federal government has, and still owes the US and other investors nearly 300 billion US Dollars. The national debt in Russia was forecast to increase between 2023 and 2028 by in total 16.1 billion U.S.
China owns 384,000 acres of American agricultural land. That's a 30% increase just since 2019. And on top of that, they own land near an air force base in North Dakota.
Japan owns the most at $1.1 trillion, followed by China, with $859 billion, and the United Kingdom at $668 billion. In isolation, this $7.4 trillion amount is a lot, said Scott Morris, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development.
Jerome Kerviel, The Most Indebted Person In The World, Owes $6.3 Billion To Former Employer, Societe Generale. In a hyper-competitive world where everyone strives to be the biggest, boldest and most famous, no one covets Jerome Kerviel record-breaking achievement.
Does America still owe Britain money?
What countries does the U.S. owe money to in 2021? The United States owes money to many countries, including Japan, mainland China, the U.K., Ireland, Luxembourg, Brazil, Switzerland and Belgium, among others.
Around 70% of Japanese government bonds are purchased by the Bank of Japan, and much of the remainder is purchased by Japanese banks and trust funds, which largely insulates the prices and yields of such bonds from the effects of the global bond market and reduces their sensitivity to credit rating changes.
Warren Buffet's 2013 letter explains the 90/10 rule—put 90% of assets in S&P 500 index funds and the other 10% in short-term government bonds.
Wealthy individuals put about 15% of their assets into fixed-income investments. These are stable investments, like bonds, that earn income over a set period of time. For example, some bonds, like Series I Savings Bonds, pay 4.3% right now and pay out the interest every six months.
The percentage may shock you.
Part of the cash would go directly to his wife and part to a trustee. He told the trustee to put 10% of the cash in short-term government bonds and 90% in a low-cost S&P 500 index fund.
