Although the U.S. share of world GDP has gradually declined since the mid-20th century, the broader importance of the United States to the global economy has diminished less, or possibly not at all, as a result of increasing financial linkages over the same period.
In particular, U.S. residents’ ownership of foreign assets has risen to nearly $ trillion (more than 140 percent of annual U.S. GDP), reflecting the leading role of U.S. capital markets in cross-border finance. Total foreign investment in the United States is even larger, at more than $ trillion.