The Global Wealth Distribution in One Chart
The pandemic resulted in global wealth taking a significant dip in the first part of 2020. By the end of March, global household wealth had already declined by around 4.4%.
Interestingly, after much monetary and fiscal stimulus from governments around the world, global household wealth was more than able to recover, finishing up the year at $418.3 trillion, a 7.4% gain from the previous year.
Using data from Credit Suisse, this graphic looks at how global wealth is distributed among the adult population.
How was Global Wealth Distributed?
While individuals worth more than $1 million constitute just 1.1% of the world’s population, they hold 45.8% of global wealth.
| Wealth Range | Wealth | Global Share (%) | Adult Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Over $1M | $191.6 trillion | 45.8% | Held by 1.1% |
| $100k-$1M | $163.9 trillion | 39.1% | Held by 11.1% |
| $10k-$100k | $57.3 trillion | 13.7% | Held by 32.8% |
| Less than $10k | $5.5 trillion | 1.3% | Held by 55.0% |
| Total | $418.3 trillion | 100.0% | Held by 100.0% |
On the other end of the spectrum, 55% of the population owns only 1.3% of global wealth.
And between these two extreme wealth distribution cases, the rest of the world’s population has a combined 52.8% of the wealth.
Global Wealth Distribution by Region
While wealth inequality is especially evident within the wealth ranges mentioned above, these differences can also be seen on a more regional basis between countries.
In 2020, total wealth rose by $12.4 trillion in North America and $9.2 trillion in Europe. These two regions (Read more...)