For the second time in 30 years, the oil-rich states of the Gulf are overwhelmed with cash. But this time, they are handling their riches differently and showing signs that they have learned some lessons from the past.

During the previous boom that ended in the early 1980s, the Gulf states spent money at a breakneck pace, pouring billions into their often rudimentary economic infrastructures. What they saved was mostly "recycled" by being placed on deposit in dollars with western banks.