1

Start with a Provocation

Step One

A few weeks into his second term, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to explore the creation of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund.

For years, the idea had lingered on the fringes—campaign fodder, think-tank white papers, nothing more.

Then, almost overnight, the question wasn't whether we should do it. It was how to make it work. Could a country with trillion-dollar deficits really pull this off?

2

Follow the Numbers

Step Two

With support from our PhD economists, we dug into the data and devised a practical, market-based solution.

  • Price Oil Royalties at Market Rates

    Oil royalties charged by the Department of the Interior are below market.

    By aligning rates with Texas, we could generate $8.5 billion in annual revenue.

    $8.5B

  • Expand Renewable Energy Leasing

    Adding expanded renewable energy leasing increases annual revenue to:

    $10.1B

  • Borrow Against It

    $10.1 billion in annual revenue and 2.9% AAA municipal bond rates and would allow the U.S. to support up to $225 billion in initial funding.

    $225B
3

Test the Edges

Step Three

Even if the fund lost every penny, resource revenues would keep flowing—ensuring bondholders still got paid.

That separation of funding risk from investment risk gave the idea real credibility.

4

Find the Story

Step Four

Next, we distilled hundreds of pages of technical analysis into a single, clear argument:

5

Put It Out There

Step Five

Finally, we carried the idea into the public arena: a Fortune op-ed, visual explainers, data visualizations designed to stick.

The story didn’t just argue that a U.S. sovereign wealth fund was possible—it proved how it could work well, down to the dollar.