Despite dwindling fortunes: Swiss remain the richest people in the world

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“Party is over.” This is the not-so-optimistic title of the “Global Wealth Report 2023” that Allianz published today. By the end of 2022, global financial assets decreased by 2.7 percent to a total of 233 trillion euros. This is the sharpest decline since the 2008 global financial crisis.

But the “Helvetic village” need not worry. With a gross wealth per capita of 356,310 euros (equivalent to approximately 345,000 francs), Switzerland still ranks first among the richest countries. The next ranks are followed by the USA (307 thousand 940 euros), Denmark (220 thousand 730 euros), Singapore (193 thousand 660 euros) and Canada (170 thousand 400 euros).

The richest ever

Of course, this is just an average value. And: In Switzerland, gross financial assets also fell by 2.1 percent. This was because securities, the largest asset class, lost 12 percent in value. This was not helped by the fact that the other two major asset classes – bank deposits and insurance or pensions – rose by around 2 and 3 percent respectively.

Meanwhile, according to the announcement, Switzerland’s debt increased by 2.9 percent. This means that liability development has slowed slightly (2021: +3.2 percent).

As a result, net assets (i.e. gross assets minus liabilities) per capita in Switzerland fell by 4.4 percent to 238,780 euros (231,000 francs). In terms of net worth per capita, Switzerland, as last year, ranked second after the USA (253,450 euros).

Saving behavior changes

According to Allianz, the saving behavior of Swiss households has changed fundamentally in recent years. Although bank deposits increased significantly again last year (23.5 billion euros inflow), the once popular type of investment still remains in securities (40.6 billion euros) and the insurance/pensions sector (26.6 billion euros). falls behind.

In the last three years, the changes become even more pronounced: new money added to bank deposits reached 60.4 billion euros, while securities purchases more than doubled to 135.6 billion euros. Swiss savers have reinvented the capital market. (SDA/rae)

Source :Blick