By the end of July, the US gross national debt had reached $21.31 trillion, up $1.47 trillion from July last year -- as I said above, a truly brain-wilting increase for a booming economy. Here's who bought or shed this paper over those 12 months:

• Foreign official and private-sector holders shed $21 billion, reducing their stake to $6.23 trillion, or to 29.2% of the total US national debt.
• The US government (pension funds, Social Security, etc.) shed $44 billion, reducing "debt held internally" to $5.70 trillion, or to 26.7% of the total.
• The Federal Reserve shed $128 billion through the end of July as part of its QE Unwind, reducing its pile to $2.337 trillion by the end of July, or to 11.0% of total US national debt.
• So if everyone shed, who bought? American institutional and individual investors, directly and indirectly, through bond funds, corporate or state pension funds, and other ways, owned $7.05 trillion, or 33.1% of the total US debt at the end of July, having added $1.66 trillion to their holdings over those 12 months!

https://wolfstreet.com/2018/09/18/who-bought-1-47-trillion-of-new-us-national-debt-past-12-months/