Norway is, in real terms, the richest western nation on earth?

[Buck]

You could move to Nauru, but I think you have to be indigenous to get a cut of the bat-shirt money.

You talking Nauru in 1970 or Nauru today? Because they strip-mined all the phosphate (destroying the environment) and blew through the money and the per capita income today is less than $5,000 per person. They actually rely on the Russians for a boatload of economic aid. There's no more bat-shirt money to be had there.

I lived in the Pacific in the 1990s, and the Nauruans still had money then. I can't say I've kept up with the island's economic fortunes since then.
The Australians were in the process of bilking them out of a lot money back then.

 

[Stoney]

Recently read an interesting article about Nauru's fate. The place went from the richest per capita country on earth to dirt poor and buried in debt in the blink of an eye.

The phosphate mines that were the source of the wealth went dry and the tales of how they mishandled the money were just ridiculous. It's like the whole island attended attended the Antoine Walker/Mike Tyson school of money management.

 

[Buck]

In the 1990s, they were bank-rolling a powerlfiting program. The idea was that it was a sport in which indigenous athletes would be able to compete on a world stage.
Also, during the '90s, some Australian business men talked them into launching an attempt at an international satellite sports network.

 

[Buck]

More bad Nauruan investments from the 1990s, according to Wikipedia:
1993's Leonardo the Musical
Purchase of the vacant Carlton and United Breweries site on Swanston Street in 1994 which was sold undeveloped in 1998
A loan to the Fitzroy Football Club which went into liquidation in 1996
The Queen Victoria Village site which was repossessed in 1999

 

[BTExpress]

Good, now that we know there is a country richer than us -- they can go fund everyone elses relief projects, send money every time some third world nation has a disaster, pay for the UN's military operations and fund a huge military to go around the world and play social worker.......

I'm glad we got that settled

Well, the percentage of their money that they do send (0.89% of GNP) is much, much higher than ours (0.18%).

But a nation of 4.7 million only has so much to send, ya know.