‘Americans Just Work Harder’ Than Europeans, Says the CEO of Norges Bank, the World’s Largest Wealth Fund
About half of the fund’s equities are invested in American companies.
Key Takeaways
- Nicolai Tangen, the CEO of Norway’s $1.6 trillion oil fund, Norges Bank, said that the fund would 鈥渟tay invested in America鈥 and that 鈥淎mericans just work harder.鈥
- About half of its equities are invested in the U.S.
The world’s largest wealth fund has more than half of its equities invested in the U.S. and intends to stay invested.
The reason? “Americans just work harder,” said , CEO of Norway’s $1.6 trillion oil fund Norges Bank.
Tangen told on Wednesday that the fund is heavily invested in American businesses because there’s a different business mindset and work ethic in the U.S.
“You go bust in America, you get another chance,” Tangen told the FT. “In Europe, you’re dead.”
Nicolai Tangen, chief executive officer of Norges Bank. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“I should be careful about talking about work-life balance, but the Americans just work harder,” he said. Tangen also noted that Norges Bank would “stay invested” in American companies for the long term.
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U.S. workers do clock in longer hours than employees in Norway, where Norges Bank is based. According to from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the average number of hours worked annually in the U.S. was 1,811 in 2022, nearly 400 hours more than Norway’s 1,425 average hours worked over the same period.
U.S. employees also outworked employees from the U.K., France, Germany, Ireland, and many other countries, veering higher than the overall average.
But working longer hours might not be something to boast about. A from the World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization showed that working long hours could impact long-term health 鈥 and pose more of a danger than occupational hazards.
The study found that working more than 55 hours per week led to a 35% higher risk of stroke and a 17% higher risk of heart disease.
Moreover, working extra hours may not lead to increased output: A University of California-Berkeley conducted over five years found that job performance tends to plateau after reaching a 50-hour workweek threshold.
“Think about the profound implication of these findings: the whole entire premise of the world’s work ethic鈥攖hat harder work equates to better results鈥攊s basically wrong,” the study’s author .
Tangen also noted in the FT interview that American companies are creating and growing technology quicker than their European counterparts, a trend he called “worrisome.”
Heightened innovation could be a byproduct of or other factors, like U.S. , its , and the to support innovation.
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Key Takeaways
- Nicolai Tangen, the CEO of Norway’s $1.6 trillion oil fund, Norges Bank, said that the fund would 鈥渟tay invested in America鈥 and that 鈥淎mericans just work harder.鈥
- About half of its equities are invested in the U.S.
The world’s largest wealth fund has more than half of its equities invested in the U.S. and intends to stay invested.
The reason? “Americans just work harder,” said , CEO of Norway’s $1.6 trillion oil fund Norges Bank.
Tangen told on Wednesday that the fund is heavily invested in American businesses because there’s a different business mindset and work ethic in the U.S.
