Who holds America’s 15 Trillion dollar debt?

The Federal Reserve has been looking at the progress of the US economic recovery and may begin to end stimulus programs if progress remains steady. That includes eventually winding down the amount of debt it purchases from the Treasury - currently $85 billion a month in long-term bonds - though purchases will continue for the time being. That's a lot of debt we're selling - to ourselves. 

As of June 2013, the federal government’s outstanding debt surpassed $16 trillion. Who are the nation’s creditors? The government owes the most money to — itself.  U.S. government agencies, including giant trust funds of the Social Security and Medicare systems, and the independent Federal Reserve System account for 41 percent of the federal debt, more than $2 of every $5.

We're not the only ones buying, though. Nearly one-third of the national debt is owed to other countries. China is the biggest foreign creditor ($1.144 trillion), followed by Japan ($1.076 trillion), but together they own less than 15 percent of it. Mexico and Canada together are owed $90 billion.