Well, I see your point. But you can at least argue that the executives and hedge fund managers 'earned' their wealth and shouldn't have it taken away from them

Well, I see your point. But you can at least argue that the executives and hedge fund managers 'earned' their wealth and shouldn't have it taken away from them. Nobody can argue that there was any kind of personal merit in the fact that oil happened to be found within their national boundaries. It's much easier politically to create a national wealth fund from a windfall like that.