Vienna. The financial assets of Austrians shrank by 3.5% in 2022 to US$900 billion (€825 billion). That was offset by $200 billion in commitments. However, as the value of real assets rose, so did total wealth somewhat, according to this year’s Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Global Wealth Report. Financial wealth in Austria is still very unevenly distributed.
In Austria, 335 ultra-rich individuals with financial assets worth more than $100 million (“Ultra High Net Worth Individuals”) own a third of the financial stocks. On average in Western Europe, the super-rich own just 17 percent of financial assets, according to BCG.
On the contrary, Austrians with less than €250,000 each in their hands own only a third of financial assets – in Western Europe the figure is 43%. For at least the next five years, no shift in the distribution of wealth is expected in Austria, says Michael Kalisch, partner at BCG in Zurich and co-author of the study.
Lots of cash, lots of money in savings accounts
More than 40 percent of the country’s financial assets are in savings accounts or are held in cash — and the trend is on the rise. This is more than ten percentage points higher than the global average, according to the BCG report. This is followed by stocks and funds (36%) and insurance and pension benefits (17%).
But the decline in financial assets in 2022 is likely to remain a one-off surprise, BCG predicts. Global financial assets are likely to increase again this year by five percent – to $267 billion worldwide.
Worldwide, approximately 62,000 super-rich have financial assets in excess of US$100 million, 22,000 of whom live in the United States. China has approximately 7,600. Germany ranks third with 2,900 super-rich. Globally, the super-rich own approximately 13 percent of financial assets (not including real assets).
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