North Dakota Legacy Fund tops $10 billion

Oil pump jacks operate against a backdrop of western North Dakota near Killdeer on Feb. 1, 2024. (Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)

North Dakota’s Legacy Fund is now worth more than $10 billion.

It was valued at approximately $10.55 billion as of the end of March, according to a Wednesday announcement from the Retirement and Investment Office, which administers the fund.

The Legacy Fund was created through a constitutional amendment approved by North Dakota voters in 2010. Its purpose is to provide a source of long-term funding for the state, should North Dakota’s energy economy falter in the future. 

The state sets aside a portion of its oil tax revenue to support the Legacy Fund.

Between July and March, the Legacy Fund received about $563.9 million in oil taxes. That’s 12% more than the state predicted, the announcement said.

“Strong investment performance and higher than anticipated oil tax revenue contributed to the Legacy Fund reaching this milestone,” Jan Murtha, executive director of the Retirement and Investment Office, said in the announcement.

According to the Retirement and Investment Office, $486.6 million in earnings from Legacy Fund investments was transferred to the general fund at the end of the 2021-2023 budget cycle last summer.

That money went toward tax relief for North Dakotans, paying debts on bonds, and the Highway Tax Distribution Fund — which goes to a variety of other programs, including state highways, public transportation, North Dakota State Highway Patrol and local governments.

The state publishes updates about the fund online, including monthly performance reports.

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