What nation has the largest SWF? China. The communist Chinese government is by far the world’s richest. It has foreign currency reserves of $300 billion to invest actively. Well then, surely we have more right? What is the size of the U. S. SWF? Zero dollars.

The new power
players in the global economy: Sovereign
Wealth Funds. These funds worth trillions of dollars are
wielded by foreign states and are slowly subverting U.S. interests and the
welfare of the American people.

The recent
major purchase by a SWF was Abu Dhabi which
invested $7.5 billion in Citigroup.

The funds are
growing in wealth at a rapid rate of 27%, and as such, increasing in power as a
potential bully pulpit in international relations. At the G7 meetings in
October, world leaders expressed their concern that these vast holdings lacked
transparency and would be used as a new international leverage.

Their concerns
are justified. Countries in possession of these funds aren’t
stupid. They want not only a return on their investment but
also a leg up on other competitor nations. It is good for business. It is good for their economy. It is good for their country. But it
is not good for America, not good for you and
I, not good for our children, and it is not good for our future as a sovereign
nation.

We have seen
our ownership, technology and profits slip away through the continued
acquisition of our best companies.

This year, 785 U. S. companies worth $129
billion have been acquired by foreign purchasers – the fastest rate of
purchasing ever. And sovereign wealth funds have been a big contributor
to that.

Here are two of
this year’s major purchases:

China’s
SWF Purchase: 10% purchase of the private equity firm Blackstone Group.

United
Arab Emirates SWF: $622 billion purchase of computer chip maker AMD.

What’s
bothersome about this? Google "Blackstone Group." It’s
amazing all the companies in which it is invested. Do we really want the
Communist Chinese having ownership of these companies (many in the defense
industry)? Well, they already do. Google AMD. What a great
innovative, technology-driven, and once-American company. Do we really
want a foreign government owing this company? It already does.

These purchases
are part of the larger problem of America’s fiscal deficits
coming back to bite us. As the value of the dollar drops, foreign nations will
unload their vast dollar-backed holdings into the “safer” investment of
ownership of American companies.

These countries
will continue to buy up our best companies, as America continues to run up
huge trade deficits (expected to exceed $800 billion this year). This
loss of company ownership will escalate our already towering deficits and
devastate our nation.

We must demand
that the candidates running for office in 2008 address how they would protect America from being the victim
of strategic investments of distant and shady sovereign wealth funds.
This is too important to ignore.

Our country – and our
children’s future depend on it.

Primary research
for this article conducted at:

Foreign Flows or Foes?

Dollar’s tumble to stoke U.S. biz
sell-offs

Citigroup-Abu Dhabi deal: A sign of the
times

It’s Time … For a New Morning in
America