The gap between rich and poor is widening again
- From Lucy Saremba
- Reading duration 2 min
This is the result of the latest Bundesbank report. According to the report, the median net wealth in Germany almost doubled between 2009 and 2023, from 54,000 to 103,000 euros.
The evaluation also shows that the composition of Germans' savings varies greatly. The rich mostly own assets from capital market instruments, e.g. property or shares. Poor people, on the other hand, tend to invest in low-risk forms of investment, such as deposits.
The report found: The coronavirus pandemic has reduced wealth inequality in Germany. According to the Bundesbank, this development is primarily due to the return of consumption opportunities after the peak phase of the pandemic.
Another finding is that growth rates for all wealth groups have declined significantly since the end of 2021, with the bottom 50 per cent being particularly affected. The Bundesbank attributes this to a decline in equity holdings and falling property assets, among other things.
Inequality among Germans has risen again since the end of 2022, as the share of total net wealth held by the poorest has fallen. Currently, the bottom 50 per cent only have a share of around 2.3 per cent of total net wealth, while the top 10 per cent own around 61 per cent.
Looking at our neighbours, it is striking that Germany is currently country within the euro zone where wealth is most unequally distributed.
Wealth distribution is measured by the Gini coefficient, which is 0 per cent when everyone has the same amount and 100 per cent when one person has everything. At 77 per cent, Germany is 5.5 per cent above the eurozone average.
Wealth is most evenly distributed in Cyprus, Malta and Slovakia, with figures between 56 and 59 per cent.
However, the Bundesbank points out that the report does not include pensions. If these were included in the analysis, inequality in Germany would probably be significantly lower.