Turkey has a wealth fund, and so does Norway: A baby is born in Norway with $340,000 in wealth, while in Turkey, one is born with $3,900 in debt

In terms of meaning and function, sovereign wealth funds are funds that ensure the surplus income generated from a country's resources is transferred to future generations. The resources owned are not the property of those governing the country or the private sector. They are resources with social ownership, such as oil, minerals, and natural resources. They are also companies that are publicly owned and generate income. Sovereign Wealth Funds target future generations, not the present. They are found in countries that have a current account surplus, not a current account deficit.

For example, the primary source of sovereign wealth funds in countries like Norway, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE is oil and natural gas exports. These resources cause these countries to have large and structural foreign trade surpluses.

Sovereign wealth funds in countries like China, Singapore, and Hong Kong were established not so much from natural resources, but from high trade surpluses that have persisted for years and accumulated foreign exchange reserves.

The Turkey Wealth Fund (TVF) was established to attract international capital to stock markets and to develop certain sectors. Due to the negative effects of politics on the stock market, rather than contributing to the development of the capital market and generating income, it has instead turned into a structure that produces debt. Let us also remind you that these borrowings are exempt from Court of Accounts audits.

The Turkey Wealth Fund contains companies established in the first 80 years of the Republic that have not yet been privatized, or companies whose management has passed to the public sector. 73 percent of the fund consists of Ziraat Bank, Halkbank, and Vakıfbank. Companies such as Turkish Airlines, BOTAŞ, Eti Maden, Turkcell, and Türk Telekom, as well as licenses for lotteries and horse racing, are also within the Turkey Wealth Fund.

While other countries' sovereign wealth funds provide resources for future generations with the income they generate, our wealth fund borrows. In an article by Dr. M. Coşkun Cangöz published on the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV) website, it is noted that the debt stock reached 4.5 billion dollars due to the borrowing the Turkey Wealth Fund undertook in the 20 months between February 2024 and September 2025. I am sharing Dr. Coşkun Cangöz's chart showing the TVF borrowing.

FUNDS AROUND THE WORLD

Let's take a brief look at the sovereign wealth funds that are shown as examples in the world.

Country: Value (billion dollars)

China 2.3

Norway 2.1

Singapore 1.3

UAE 1.3

Saudi Arabia 1.0

Kuwait 0.9

Qatar 0.5

Turkey 0.360

NORWAY HAS A WEALTH FUND, AND SO DOES TURKEY…

The total value of the sovereign wealth fund in Norway is over 2 trillion dollars. The total public debt in Norway is around 250 billion dollars. Accordingly, the amount in the wealth fund is exactly 8 times the size of the total debt.

The share per capita in the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund, which has a value of over 2 trillion dollars, is 340,000 dollars. Every newborn Norwegian baby enters the world with a wealth of 340,000 dollars.

This money is, of course, a theoretical share and is not paid to the baby in cash when they grow up. The Norwegian government uses 3 percent of the total fund value to support the budget. This share forms the basis of Norway's power to finance public services that all its citizens benefit from, such as health, education, pensions, and infrastructure. In other words, a newborn Norwegian, even if not in direct cash, opens their eyes to the world with the guarantee of one of the world's most robust social security nets and high standards of living.

Turkey also has a wealth fund. Its total market value is measured at 360 billion dollars as of the end of 2024. When liabilities are deducted, its net asset size is 55 billion dollars. It announced a net profit of around 11 billion dollars as of 2024. However, Turkish citizens cannot benefit from the wealth fund in any way.

The total debt stock of the public sector is 12 trillion 964 billion liras. According to the 2025 average dollar exchange rate, this is 328 billion dollars. While a baby is born in Norway with 340,000 dollars in wealth, a baby in Turkey is born with 3,900 dollars in debt.

If you were to say, "Let's sell all the assets in the wealth fund like a bankrupt merchant closing up shop and leaving," you would be left with 55 billion dollars. That is one-sixth of the 328 billion dollar public debt stock. In this case, a baby in Turkey would still be born with 3,200 dollars in debt, without any public assets left at all.