This $600 Billion Wealth Fund Got Caught in a Power Struggle

  • Politics holds up approval of new term for nine-member board
  • Uncertainty over KIA part of Kuwait’s broader policy paralysis

Photographer: Yasser al-Zayyat/AFP/Getty Images

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A $600 billion sovereign wealth fund is caught in the crosshairs of a political power struggle that’s roiling one of the world’s richest countries.

The Kuwait Investment Authority, the world’s oldest state investment vehicle, has been in limbo since its board’s tenure expired two months ago. A new term has yet to be approved as political differences spill over into a disagreement over the make-up of the nine-member board, according to a person familiar with the matter.