Venezuela’s self-reported crude oil reserves tripled from around 100 billion barrels in the early 2000s to 300 billion barrels in the late 2000s due to the reclassification of Orinoco Belt heavy oil as “proved,” see the first chart below. Much of the oil is extra-heavy, which has low recovery and a high cost to produce. There was no large new discovery or production increase to justify a tripling of reserves through exploration alone, see the second chart.
Data for bank lending points to a gradual recovery in the US and Europe, see chart below.
Forty percent of US homes don’t have a mortgage, up from 33% in 2010, see chart below.
Retail demand for gold has exploded over the past year, see chart below.
The median age of companies going public has increased to 14 years, see chart below.
With more companies staying private for longer, and in some cases staying private forever, there is a bigger need for private markets in debt and equity.
Weekly data for GDP and same-store retail sales are showing no signs of a slowdown in the US economy, see charts below.
Explore the full 2026 Outlook, featuring our macro view and expert perspectives across regions and asset classes, at apollo.com/outlook.
