1944: The Secret Deal That Made America Rich! (And everyone else poor)

The 1944 Bretton Woods agreement established the US dollar as the global reserve currency, giving America an 'exorbitant privilege' that continues to devalue savings for individuals worldwide.

• The 1944 Bretton Woods agreement made the US dollar the global reserve currency.

• America's ability to print dollars without earning them creates an 'exorbitant privilege' that devalues other currencies.

• Protect savings by holding assets like real estate, businesses, or gold, as the current system devalues cash.

The 1944 Bretton Woods Conference made the US dollar the global currency, pegged to gold at $35 per ounce, granting America the unique ability to print dollars, which other countries needed for trade and rebuilding after WWII. This 'exorbitant privilege' allowed the US to print more dollars than its gold reserves, leading to a break from the gold standard in 1971. Despite this, the dollar remains the world's reserve currency, trapping countries and devaluing global savings.

Bretton Woods Agreement

• 00:00:05 In July 1944, the Bretton Woods agreement established the US dollar as the global currency, with other countries pegging their currencies to it and the US promising to exchange dollars for gold at $35 an ounce. This system granted America 'exorbitant privilege,' allowing it to print dollars that the world needed for trade and rebuilding, without earning them, while other nations had to earn dollars to participate in global commerce.

End of Gold Standard

• 00:01:16 As the US printed more dollars than it had gold to back, countries like France, Japan, Germany, and Switzerland began demanding their gold in exchange for dollars in the mid-1960s. This led President Nixon to end the dollar's convertibility to gold on August 15, 1971, breaking the original agreement and leaving the world with paper dollars backed by nothing, yet the dollar remains the global reserve currency due to its entrenchment in oil pricing and international trade.