Who holds the federal debt? China 8%, Japan 7%, SS trust fund 16%, Fed 12%, mutual funds 6% ... [View all]

[pampango]

The biggest are the Social Security trust funds (16 percent), the Federal Reserve banks (12 percent), China (8 percent), Japan (7 percent) and mutual funds including money-market funds (6 percent).

Our primary source is Table OFS-2 in the September issue of the Treasury Bulletin, which can be found under the heading “Ownership of Federal Securities.” For additional details, we’ve also drawn on reports of the Federal Reserve System and other U.S. Treasury documents.

The largest portion of the total debt — about 40 percent — was held by federal government accounts plus the Federal Reserve banks.

Another 34 percent of total federal debt is owed to foreigners, including China (which owned nearly $1.3 trillion of the total debt, or about 8 percent), closely followed by Japan, which owned $1.1 trillion, or 7 percent.

The remainder of the total federal debt is spread among mostly private, domestic investors, including 6 percent owned through mutual funds, such as money-market funds. Another 3 percent is owned by state and local governments.

http://www.factcheck.org/2013/11/who-holds-our-debt/