"Ambitionless and Not Working Hard" Giant Managing 2200 Trillion, Sharp Criticism to Europe

Norway Sovereign Wealth Fund CEO Warns
"Europe Lacks Ambition and Is Defensive... Gap with the US Widens"
"US Companies Lead Europe in Innovation"

Nikolai Tangen, CEO of Norway's sovereign wealth fund managing assets worth $1.6 trillion, delivered a sharp critique of European work culture.

In an interview with the UK Financial Times (FT) on the 24th (local time), CEO Tangen stated, "Europe works less hard, is less ambitious, and tends to avoid risks compared to the United States." He also criticized European governments, saying, "(Government) regulations are too numerous," and warned, "The gap between the two continents is growing wider."

Nikolai Tangen, CEO of the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund
[Photo by Reuters]

CEO Tangen leads Norway's sovereign wealth fund. As of the end of last month, the fund's managed capital stood at 17.7 trillion kroner (approximately $1.6132 trillion or 2,200 trillion won), a scale comparable to South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP).

Norway's sovereign wealth fund leverages this massive capital to play a major role in the global stock market. It owns an average of 1.5% of all publicly listed companies worldwide and 2.5% of European stocks.

CEO Tangen pointed out, "It is concerning that American companies have outpaced their European competitors in innovation and technology, leading to a significant rise in U.S. stock prices over the past decade," adding, "The problem lies in the mindset of accepting mistakes and risks; in the U.S., failure is followed by new opportunities, but in Europe, it is considered the end."

He also argued, "There is a difference in the general scale of ambition. Europeans are not very ambitious," and cautiously noted, "While discussing work-life balance is sensitive, Americans work harder."

Meanwhile, Norway's sovereign wealth fund currently invests directly in about 9,000 companies worldwide. Among them are U.S. big tech firms such as Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. Notably, the seven major U.S. big tech companies account for about 12% of the fund's entire equity portfolio, demonstrating their enormous presence.