Venezuela's $500 Billion Collapse: The Pattern Destroying Today's Economies

Venezuela was once richer than almost every country in Europe.
Today, it’s the textbook example of how to erase a nation’s wealth.
This is the story of how a country sitting on the world’s largest oil reserves managed to destroy an estimated $500,000,000,000 in national wealth — not through a single coup or invasion, but through decades of “rational” decisions that added up to catastrophe.
In this episode of Wealth Retold, we unpack how a rich petro-state became a humanitarian crisis, and what that pattern warns us about today’s debt‑driven economies.
What you’ll learn:
• Why Venezuela’s oil boom created a hidden dependency that hollowed out everything else
• How government spending, subsidies, and currency manipulation turned into a fiscal addiction
• The mechanics of hyperinflation – and what 10,000,000% inflation actually looks like in real life
• How an estimated $500 billion in national wealth effectively disappeared
• Why this isn’t just a “Venezuela problem” – and what it suggests about today’s easy‑money, high‑debt world
If you’re interested in:
• Economic history and how empires actually fall
• The resource curse and petro‑states
• Hyperinflation, sovereign debt, and monetary policy
• The human cost when money breaks
…this episode is for you.
0:00 – Cold Open: The $500 Billion Collapse
1:30 – The Illusion of Permanent Wealth
4:00 – Building a Fragile Miracle
6:30 – Breaking the Golden Goose (PDVSA)
9:00 – The Shock: Oil Price Crash and Sanctions
10:45 – Printing the Difference: Hyperinflation
12:45 – The Human and Capital Exodus
14:30 – What the "Recovery" Really Means
16:00 – The Pattern, Not the Exception
18:00 – Why This Matters Now
19:30 – Conclusion
Disclaimer:
This video is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not investment, financial, tax, or legal advice. Nothing in this video should be interpreted as a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security, currency, or asset. Always do your own research and consult a qualified professional before making financial decisions.
Hashtags:
#Venezuela #EconomicHistory #Hyperinflation #ResourceCurse #WealthRetold #Oil #Debt