Aug 29, 2012

Kuwait - how much can a citizen get?

If Kuwait becomes a citizen-ownership democracy, how much can its citizens get?

Kuwait has 3 to 3.5 million citizens.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Kuwait

It's sovereign wealth fund is estimated to be in excess of $300 billion of assets. The fund is growing as oil revenues are channeled into it.
"The Kuwait Future Generations Fund has 10% of annual oil revenues added to it. As of fiscal year 2004/2005, the annual contribution to the Kuwait Future Generations Fund was valued at 896.24 million Kuwaiti dinars (USD $3.07 billion)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuwait_Investment_Authority

A quick estimate:
 $300 billion divided by 3 million citizens = $100,000 per citizen in the current fund.
 Assuming a small return of 3%, each citizen should get $3000 per year.
 Over an 80-year lifespan, a citizen stands to get $240,000, IF Kuwait becomes a citizen-ownership democracy.

The above estimate does not include increases in the fund from annual oil revenues. 
Assuming 10% of annual oil revenue is $3 billion, if 100% of oil revenue is put into the fund, as in a true citizen-ownership democracy, the fund will increase by $30 billion a year. At these rates, a citizen stands to receive $1,200,000 over the next 80 years.


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