[mc32]

Russia, Mexico, Brazil, etc., have or had more readily available natural resources. The US, unlike the Spanish viceroyalties relied more on agriculture and trade than the Portuguese and Spanish colonies who stuck gold in the Americas. Japan is natural resource poor yet it’s the worlds third leading economy. So thats not the main driver.

[state_less]

Japan’s wealth has varied over time. Same for the other countries you listed. It seems that a good work ethic that includes working to educate yourself, and a stable environment for your good works to compound on themselves is the main driver. The US had these qualities in abundance and at a large scale for some time.