Four Countries Own More Than 50% of Global Wealth!

According to Credit Suisse, in 2019, total world wealth grew by $9.1 trillion to $360.6 trillion, a 2.6% increase over the previous year. Wealth per adult hit a new record high of USD 70,850. This is a 1.2% bump which has not been adjusted for inflation. While more than half of all adults worldwide have a net worth below USD 10,000, nearly 1% of adults are millionaires who collectively own 44% of global wealth. However, the trend toward increasing inequality has eased, and the share of the top 1% of wealth holders is below the recent peak in 2016.

Credit Suisse defines wealth, or “net worth,” as the sum total of all financial assets minus any debts.

In 2019, the U.S. still controlled by far more wealth than any other country, holding $106 trillion of wealth, which amounts to a 29.4% share of the global total. Much of this is due to the incredible growth in fortunes of the richest people.  For example, the world’s 500 wealthiest people saw their fortunes grow by an incredible $1.2T last year alone, bringing their net worth to $5.9 trillion. That’s more than the total for all of Africa ($4.11 trillion).

  

Rank	Country	Region	Total Wealth ($B, 2019)	% Global Share
#1	United States	North America	$105,990	29.4%
#2	China	China	$63,827	17.7%
#3	Japan	Asia-Pacific	$24,992	6.9%
#4	Germany	Europe	$14,660	4.1%
#5	United Kingdom	Europe	$14,341	4.0%
#6	France	Europe	$13,729	3.8%
#7	India	India	$12,614	3.5%
#8	Italy	Europe	$11,358	3.1%
#9	Canada	North America	$8,573	2.4%
#10	Spain	Europe	$7,772	2.2%
#11	South Korea	Asia-Pacific	$7,302	2.0%
#12	Australia	Asia-Pacific	$7,202	2.0%
#13	Taiwan	Asia-Pacific	$4,062	1.1%
#14	Switzerland	Europe	$3,877	1.1%
#15	Netherlands	Europe	$3,719	1.0%
	All Other Countries		$56,585	15.7%
	Global Total		$360,603	100.0%

Following the U.S., the other countries in the top four list that hold the most wealth are China, Japan and Germany. These four countries combined have 58.1% of entire world’s wealth — more than half of the global share. The 15 wealthiest countries as listed above own 84.3% of global wealth. In fact, the combined wealth of the U.S. and China is already more than the next 13 countries in aggregate!

Thanks to globalization, global wealth is projected to rise by 27% over the next five years, reaching $459 trillion by 2024. Low- and middle-income countries are responsible for 38% of the growth, although they account for just 31% of current wealth. The researchers believe that the growth by middle-income countries will be the primary driver of global trends in the next few years!

Reference:

1. Jeff Desjardins, All of the World’s Wealth in One Visualization www.visualcapitalist.com

2. Global Wealth Report 2019, Credit Suisse