How Alaska compares
The Alaska Permanent Fund is the largest sovereign wealth fund in the United States — and a small fish in a very large global pond. Here's the picture.
Global scale
The world's largest sovereign wealth funds
Assets under management. Alaska is shown for scale at the bottom.
The numbers
| Rank | Fund | Country | Approx. assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Government Pension Fund Global (NBIM) | Norway | $2.1 trillion+ |
| 2 | China Investment Corporation (CIC) | China | $1.33 trillion |
| 3 | Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) | UAE | $1.11 trillion |
| 4 | Public Investment Fund (PIF) | Saudi Arabia | $925 billion |
| 5 | Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) | Qatar | $557 billion |
| — | Alaska Permanent Fund (APF) | USA (Alaska) | $89 billion |
Approximate values, 2025–2026; some funds do not disclose exact figures. Five funds now exceed $1 trillion.[1]
The Norway model
What Alaska can learn from the world's biggest
Norway started saving its oil money in 1990 — 14 years after Alaska — yet its fund is now about 26 times larger. How?
Norway deposits nearly all of its petroleum revenue into the fund and, by a strict rule, spends only the expected real return (around 3% a year) on the budget. The principal keeps compounding, and the fund is built to outlive the oil.
Alaska's design is similar in spirit, but it saves a smaller share (a constitutional minimum of 25% of royalties) and pays a direct dividend. The contrast is a useful mirror as Alaskans debate how much to save, how much to draw, and whether to protect the Fund's real value.
And among U.S. funds?
Several U.S. states run resource-based funds, but Alaska's is by far the largest and the only one that pays a universal annual dividend. Peers include Texas's Permanent University Fund and Permanent School Fund, New Mexico's Land Grant Permanent Fund, North Dakota's Legacy Fund, and Wyoming's Permanent Mineral Trust Fund — but none returns money directly to residents the way Alaska does.
Sources
- Sovereign wealth fund rankings: Visual Capitalist and industry trackers (2025–2026). Norway >$2.1T; CIC ~$1.33T; ADIA ~$1.11T; PIF ~$925B; QIA ~$557B; global total ~$13–14T.
- Alaska Permanent Fund value: APFC apfc.org (~$89B, 2026). Norway fund history and spending rule: Norges Bank Investment Management.