<P> The Alaska Permanent Fund is a constitutionally established permanent fund managed by a state - owned corporation, the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation (APFC). It was established in Alaska in 1976 by Article 9, Section 15 of the Alaska State Constitution under Governor Jay Hammond . From February 1976 until April 1980, the Department of Revenue Treasury Division managed the state's Permanent Fund assets, until, in 1980, the Alaska State Legislature created the APFC . As of the end of 2016, the fund is worth nearly $55 billion that has been funded by oil revenues . </P> <P> Shortly after the oil from Alaska's North Slope began flowing to market through the Trans - Alaska Pipeline System, the Permanent Fund was created by an amendment to the Alaska Constitution . It was designed to be an investment where at least 25% of the oil money would be put into a dedicated fund for future generations, who would no longer have oil as a resource . This does not mean the fund is solely funded by oil revenue . The Fund includes neither property taxes on oil company property nor income tax from oil corporations, so the minimum 25% deposit is closer to 11% if those sources were also considered . The Alaska Permanent Fund sets aside a certain share of oil revenues to continue benefiting current and all future generations of Alaskans . Many citizens also believed that the legislature too quickly and too inefficiently spent the $900 million bonus the state got in 1969 after leasing out the oil fields . This belief spurred a desire to put some oil revenues out of direct political control . </P> <P> The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation manages the assets of both the Permanent Fund and other state investments, but spending Fund income is up to the Legislature . The Corporation is to manage for maximum prudent return, and not--as some Alaskans at first wanted--as a development bank for in - state projects . The Fund grew from an initial investment of $734,000 in 1977 to approximately $53.7 billion as of July 9, 2015 . Some growth was due to good management, some to inflationary re-investment, and some via legislative decisions to deposit extra income during boom years . Each year, the fund's realized earnings are split between inflation - proofing, operating expenses, and the annual Permanent Fund Dividend . </P> <P> In June 2011, the Fund's chief investment officer announced he would leave the sovereign wealth fund and re-enter the private sector, joining consulting firm Wurts and Associates . His replacement will be Jay Willoughby, a businessman from the private sector . The fund is a member of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds and has therefore signed up to the Santiago Principles on best practice in managing sovereign wealth funds . The fund's current CIO is Russell Read . </P>

Where does the permanent fund dividend come from