Petrodollar Architect Says Trump’s Latest Move Could Eclipse the Most Powerful Financial Deal in U.S. History

Ex-CIA advisor reveals the overlooked $150 trillion asset that may define America’s next chapter

/EIN News/ -- BALTIMORE, May 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In the 1970s, a little-known international accord reshaped global finance: the Petrodollar deal, which ensured oil would be priced in U.S. dollars, securing America's economic dominance for decades.

Now, one of the architects of that original agreement says something even bigger is unfolding—right here at home.

“This is the opportunity of a lifetime,” says Jim Rickards, former advisor to the U.S. Treasury, White House, and CIA. “We’re finally unlocking our American Birthright”.
“For the first time in half a century—we can go get it.”

Rickards is referring to what he calls a $150 trillion national endowment—an overlooked store of natural wealth buried beneath public lands, hidden for more than 160 years.

Bigger Than Oil? The Untapped Power of America's Mineral Wealth

While the Petrodollar strategy leveraged global oil, Rickards says this new opportunity centers around America’s mineral-rich land base—containing vast quantities of copper, gold, lithium, and other critical materials essential for energy, defense, and technology.

“It’s enough to make every single family in America millionaires,” Rickards says. “Enough to pay off the national debt, four times over. “This ‘trust fund’ is not a pile of money to be equally distributed… It’s not part of a government program or handout,” Rickards explains.

Rickards claims this wealth was made possible through changes to Title 30 of the U.S. Code, but access was long suppressed by environmental regulations.

“Despite giving away 10% of all land in the United States… the government retained the most valuable part. For 163 years, it’s held on to it.”

Why Chevron Was the Barrier—And Trump Took It Down

The primary legal barrier, Rickards explains, was the Chevron Doctrine, a decades-old precedent that gave federal agencies sweeping power to interpret and enforce regulation.

“They gave agencies like the EPA ‘kill shot’ power to stop any mining project they wanted,” Rickards explains. “We have massive mineral wealth here… but the government got in the way.”

In 2024, the Supreme Court—under a Trump-appointed majority—overturned the Chevron Doctrine, paving the way for access to these long-locked resources.

“Now… for the first time in half a century—we can go get them,” Rickards says. “Trump is re-opening our mineral-rich Federal Lands. And fast-tracking efforts to recover trillions of dollars’ worth of resources.”

From Foreign Dependence to Domestic Dominance

Rickards believes this new shift could reverse decades of economic dependency on foreign powers—particularly China, which currently supplies many of the minerals America needs.

“The United States is the only nation in the world that locks [its own minerals] up,” says a former Department of the Interior insider quoted by Rickards. “We’re finally shifting from scarcity to surplus. From red tape to real recovery.”

About Jim Rickards

Jim Rickards is a seasoned economist, attorney, and national security advisor who has served in senior roles at the CIA, Pentagon, and U.S. Treasury. In the 1970s, he played a key role in shaping the Petrodollar Accord. He later advised U.S. leadership during the Iran Hostage Crisis and helped forecast the 2008 financial collapse.

Today, Rickards publishes Strategic Intelligence, a monthly research initiative focused on geopolitical and economic developments with long-term impact.

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