Private wealth at a record high Especially the super-rich get richer

Status: 10.06.2021 8:34 a.m.

Never before have people worldwide amassed so much private wealth as in the Corona year 2020. The wealth of Germans alone climbed – thanks to savings and real estate – to almost 20 trillion dollars. 20,000,000,000,000 dollars – this is the impressive sum of private wealth that private households in Germany had at their disposal in 2020. This emerges from the new “Global Wealth Report” by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Better real estate than stocks

The Germans were helped by their much-cited propensity to save: financial assets, including cash, account balances, stocks, pensions and life insurance, grew by around six percent to around nine trillion dollars, according to the information. Investors in Germany saved above average, emphasized Anna Zakrzewski, BCG partner and author of the study. “Traditionally, Germans prefer to invest in real estate rather than in securities, as the real value quota of almost 60 percent clearly shows,” says the BCG expert. In the crisis year 2020, the real assets of Germans, i.e. real estate, jewelry, art and gold, increased by five percent to 13 trillion dollars. After deducting debts, private households in Germany had a total of just under $ 20 trillion.

Rising stock market prices, growing savings

The developments in Germany are a reflection of a global trend: people around the globe accumulated more wealth than ever in the year of the Corona crisis. Private financial assets rose year-on-year by a good eight percent to a record $ 250 trillion. Rising stock exchange prices and growing savings contributed to this. The BCG experts were surprised, as they expected a year ago that private assets would melt as a result of the corona pandemic. For the first time in 2020, the BCG experts will also consider property such as real estate or gold. Total assets minus debt was $ 431 trillion.

2900 super-rich in Germany

However, wealth is unevenly distributed. Above all, the club of the rich and super-rich grew strongly. The super rich – these are people with a net worth of more than $ 100 million. In the crisis year 2020, 6000 more people were accepted into the club of the super-rich, the number of members grew to 60,000. According to the BCG, these 60,000 people own 15 percent of the world’s investable wealth. In Germany alone there are 2,900 super-rich. This puts the Federal Republic of Germany in third place in the global ranking. The USA is at the top, followed by China.

Getting richer?

Against the background of the expected economic recovery after the Corona crisis, BCG expects steady growth in global private wealth for the coming years. By 2025, it should grow by an average of just under five percent annually to $ 544 trillion. Global inequalities are likely to increase further: According to the BCG forecast, people in North America, Asia excluding Japan and Western Europe in particular will get richer.