Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on Wednesday. "/> Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on Wednesday. " />

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Government ‘massaged’ poverty report

The German government has "massaged" its four-yearly "Poverty and Wealth Report", excising particularly critical passages, the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on Wednesday.

Published: 28 November 2012 12:21 CET

Government 'massaged' poverty report

Photo: DPA

The paper acquired copies of both the original draft and the revised version of the report.

In the introduction to the report, a statement saying “private wealth in Germany is distributed very unequally” — present in a draft sent to different ministries in September for approval — has been cut from a revised version dating from November 21, the newspaper said.

Similarly, a passage relating to wage developments has also been removed.

The offending paragraph said that “while wage developments at the top end showed a positive upward trend, wages at the lower end of the scale have fallen in price-adjusted terms in the past 10 years. The wage gap has widened.”

And that could “jeopardize social cohesion,” according to the first version of the report.

According to the Süddeutsche, Economy Minister Philipp Rösler made it known that the original draft version report “does not reflect the government’s opinion.”

Nevertheless, a spokeswoman for the labour ministry denied the report had been embellished.

“The changes were made after consultation with different ministries” in what was a “normal process,” she told news agency AFP.

No date has yet been set for publication of the report, the spokeswoman added.

AFP/mry

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Germany takes third spot in global ranking of ‘ultra-rich’ people

The number of rich is growing despite the pandemic. Photo: picture alliance / dpa | Jens Kalaene

The year 2020 caused financial stress for many people across the world. But some people – including in Germany – actually got richer.

Overall across the world, the number of individuals with a financial wealth of over 100 million US dollars (€82.25 million) grew by 6,000 during the coronavirus pandemic year 2020, according to the Global Wealth 2021 report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Currently a record 60,000 people belong to the ultra-rich club. These individuals own 15 percent of the world’s investable assets, according to the report.

Germany came in at third place on global rankings, with around 2,900 of these “ultra-high net worth individuals,”. The US is at the top with about 20,600 people with a wealth of over 100 million dollars, followed by China with 7,800.

READ ALSO: Who belongs to the top 10 percent of earners in Germany?

What about private wealth?

People around the globe accumulated more wealth than ever before in the coronavirus crisis year 2020.

Private financial assets rose by eight percent year-on-year to a record 250 trillion US dollars (around €205 trillion), according to the analysis.

Rising stock market prices and growing savings contributed to this. For the first time, BCG also took into account tangible assets such as real estate or gold. Total wealth thus amounted to 431 trillion dollars.

In Germany, private financial assets, including cash, account balances, shares, pensions and life insurance policies, rose by around six percent to approximately nine trillion dollars, according to the data. Tangible assets increased by five percent to 13 trillion dollars.

“Germans traditionally invest in real estate,” said BCG partner and report author Anna Zakrewski. This is clearly shown by the real asset ratio of just under 60 percent, she said.

“At the same time, investors in Germany are saving at an above-average rate.”

Many people have been holding on to their money during the crisis, Zakrewski said, adding that temporary closures in the retail sector and travel restrictions were also putting the brakes on spending.

READ ALSO: How and why Germany’s super-rich list is growing

The number of dollar millionaires in Germany increased by 35,000 to 542,000 in 2020, according to the report.

The consulting firm said the increase could partly be attributed to the development of the euro exchange rate, which rose against the dollar. This had a noticeable effect on the conversion to the US currency.

Across the globe, 26.6 million people own financial assets of one million dollars or more – up by 1.8 million from the previous pre-Covid year.

The US led the global wealth ranking overall with 136 trillion dollars, followed by Asia excluding Japan (111.9 trillion) and Western Europe (103 trillion). In view of the expected economic recovery after the crisis, BCG believes global private wealth will grow steadily in the coming years.

READ ALSO: This is how many millionaires live in Germany

Who are the richest people in Germany?

As heirs to Aldi Süd, they became billionaires: Beate Heister and Karl Albrecht Junior are currently the richest people in Germany, with assets of 39.2 billion US dollars, according to Forbes.

In second place of the richest Germans is Dieter Schwarz, owner of the Schwarz Group, which Lidl and Kaufland belong ($36.9 billion) to. Theo Albrecht, the co-owner of Aldi Nord, is also in the top seven, with assets of $18.8 billion.

Internationally, however, another (super) market founder is leading: with 177 billion US dollars, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is currently considered the wealthiest person in the world.

Graph translated by Statista for The Local Germany

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