The Petrodollar: How Oil Turned the Dollar into a Tool of Global Power
In 1971, President Richard Nixon ended the fixed conversion of dollars into gold. The move broke the foundation of Bretton Woods. Other countries could no longer take dollars to the US Treasury and exchange them for gold. From then on, the dollar rested on American economic power, military power, and the world’s need for the currency. Two years later, the 1973 oil crisis drove energy prices sharply higher. Oil was s…
⬛ CONFIDENTIAL MysteriesLab Editorial 8/27/2026 1 min read
In 1971, President Richard Nixon ended the fixed conversion of dollars into gold. The move broke the foundation of Bretton Woods. Other countries could no longer take dollars to the US Treasury and exchange them for gold. From then on, the dollar rested on American economic power, military power, and the world’s need for the currency.
In 1971, President Richard Nixon ended the fixed conversion of dollars into gold. The move broke the foundation of Bretton Woods. Other countries could no longer take dollars to the US Treasury and exchange them for gold. From then on, the dollar rested on American economic power, military power, and the world’s need for the currency. Two years later, the 1973 oil crisis drove energy prices sharply higher. Oil was s…
In 1971, President Richard Nixon ended the fixed conversion of dollars into gold. The move broke the foundation of Bretton Woods. Other countries could no longer take dollars to the US Treasury and exchange them for gold. From then on, the dollar rested on American economic power, military power, and the world’s need for the currency. Two years later, the 1973 oil crisis drove energy prices sharply higher. Oil was s…
In 1971, President Richard Nixon ended the fixed conversion of dollars into gold. The move broke the foundation of Bretton Woods. Other countries could no longer take dollars to the US Treasury and exchange them for gold. From then on, the dollar rested on American economic power, military power, and the world’s need for the currency. Two years later, the 1973 oil crisis drove energy prices sharply higher. Oil was s…
In 1971, President Richard Nixon ended the fixed conversion of dollars into gold. The move broke the foundation of Bretton Woods. Other countries could no longer take dollars to the US Treasury and exchange them for gold. From then on, the dollar rested on American economic power, military power, and the world’s need for the currency. Two years later, the 1973 oil crisis drove energy prices sharply higher. Oil was s…