How one of the world’s wealthiest countries became bankrupt | Foreign Correspondent archives
December 18, 2025
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1:51Now PlayingHow one of the world’s wealthiest countries became bankrupt | Foreign Correspondent archives
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as posted by the channelNauru was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world per capita but became one of the poorest after its phosphate reserves were depleted.
In the late 1960s a sovereign wealth fund was set up to ensure a future income for the island once the phosphate royalties stopped rolling in, totalling over a billion dollars at its peak.
However, the Pacific paradise's fortune was squandered by inept political leaders and their island spoiled by corruption, greed and exploitation.
This episode was aired on Foreign Correspondent in 2001.
#Archives #ForeignCorrespondent #Nauru #Pacific #ABCNews
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