Debt Held by the Public. The public holds the rest of the national debt ($14.7 trillion). Foreign governments and investors hold nearly half of it. One-fourth is held by other governmental entities. These include the Federal Reserve, as well as state and local governments. Fifteen percent is held by mutual funds, private pension funds and holders of savings bonds and Treasury notes. The remaining 10 percent is owned by businesses, like banks and insurance companies. It's also held by an assortment of trusts, companies, and investors.
Here's the breakdown of holders of the public debt as of December 2016:
Foreign - $6.004 trillion
Federal Reserve - $2.465 trillion
Mutual funds - $1.671 trillion
State and local government, including their pension funds - $905 billion
Private pension funds - $553 billion
Banks - $663 billion
Insurance companies - $347 billion
U.S. savings bonds - $166 billion
Other (individuals, government-sponsored enterprises, brokers and dealers, bank personal trusts and estates, corporate and non-corporate businesses, and other investors) - $1.662 trillion.
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