, Columnist
The Decline and Fall of the Gulf’s Oil Empire Is Looming
Price wars may have little bearing on the inevitable crash in wealth.
The end of the Gulf as we know it is coming.
Photographer: Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images
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For much of the world, oil wealth is a curse. Endowed with ample reserves of hydrocarbons, the likes of Nigeria, Angola, Kazakhstan, Mexico and Venezuela frittered the benefits away.
Only in the Persian Gulf has oil been a nation-building blessing. The discoveries of petroleum in the mid-20th century turned an anarchic, desperately poor region into one of the most affluent places on the planet. Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates are all richer than Switzerland. Even Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman are on a par with Japan or the U.K.