Norway

Norway is what happens when a country discovers it's sitting on an ocean of oil and decides to save the money instead of spending it. The Government Pension Fund Global - the world's largest sovereign wealth fund at over $1.7 trillion - owns roughly 1.5% of all publicly traded stocks on Earth. Every Norwegian is technically a millionaire on paper. Yet the country remains refreshingly understated: Teslas are everywhere, but showing off is the worst social sin imaginable. It's called Janteloven - the law of Jante - and it essentially means don't think you're better than anyone else.

But Norway's real wealth is geographic. The western coastline is carved into some of the most dramatic landscapes on the planet - fjords plunging a thousand meters between sheer cliffs, waterfalls tumbling from hanging valleys, and the midnight sun illuminating everything in gold from May to July. The Lofoten Islands look like a fantasy illustration. The Northern Lights turn the Arctic sky into an electric canvas. From the Viking Age to the modern era of cross-country skiing and black metal music, Norway has always drawn its identity from this extraordinary relationship between people and a landscape that is both brutal and beautiful beyond words.