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WEALTH

This is how many millionaires live in Germany

A new report says Germany has the third largest number of dollar millionaires in the world – and the rich are growing. At the end of this year, however, the outlook could be different.

Published: 9 July 2020 09:01 CEST
Updated: 9 July 2020 10:35 CEST
This is how many millionaires live in Germany
Archive photo shows people drinking champagne in Berlin. Photo: DPA

The number of dollar millionaires in Germany grew significantly last year, according to the World Wealth Report 2020 by the consulting firm Capgemini.

The research estimates the number of Germans with assets of one million dollars or more at 1.46 million (the World Wealth Report calculates in dollars for international comparability), reported Spiegel on Thursday.

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

This group grew by more than 100,000 people, or 8.6 percent, compared to the previous year.

It means Germany has the third largest number of dollar millionaires after the USA and Japan, according to the ranking.

Number of millionaires worldwide growing

It comes despite Germany only just escaping recession in 2019. Calculated over the year, the economy as a whole grew by only 0.6 percent.

Nevertheless, Germany's development at the top of the wealth distribution ranking is fully in line with the global trend: the rich are getting richer – and at a much faster rate than everyone else.

READ ALSO: One percent of Germans 'own 30 percent of country's wealth'

According to Capgemini, the number of dollar millionaires worldwide also rose by almost nine percent last year – despite trade wars and geopolitical tensions.

The report estimates that the net worth of wealthy people across the world climbed to 74 trillion dollars at the end of 2019, up 8.7 percent from 2018 and 46 trillion dollars in December 2012.

The population of millionaires reached almost 20 million, including 183,400 with a net worth above 30 million dollars, compared to 18 million dollars in 2018 and just 12 million dollars in 2012.

USA at the top of rich-boom

Here's one reason for the millionaire boom– fuelled by low interest rates, many real estate prices have risen sharply despite the fact that the economy has already been weakening in 2019.

This was particularly noticeable in the US, where the phenomenon was exacerbated by the consequences of a tax reform where US President Donald Trump massively relieved the burden on companies and corporations.

And now for the technical part: the major US stock market indices all rose rapidly: the S&P went up by almost 29 percent, the Dow Jones by 22 percent, and the Nasdaq increased by more than 35 percent.

This is one of the reasons why the USA is at the top of this year's rich-boom: the number of millionaires there rose by eleven percent or almost 600,000 to 5.9 million. In 2019, for the first time since 2012, the increase was also higher in North America and Europe than in the Asia-Pacific region (plus 8 percent).

On the list Japan came second after the US with 3.4 million millionaires, followed by Germany, China (1.3 million in 2019) and France (0.7 million).

However, the outlook for 2020 is likely to be significantly different in view of the recession triggered by the pandemic.

According to estimates, investment markets lost up to 18 trillion dollars during the coronavirus crash on the stock markets in March.

Since then, however, there's been some recovery on the stock markets. We'll have to wait and see if the crisis seriously impacts the pockets of the super wealthy.

Vocabulary

Millionaires – (die) Millionäre

Grew significantly – deutlich gewachsen

German economy – (die) deutsche Wirtschaft

Trade war – (der) Handelskrieg

We're aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.

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LIVING IN GERMANY

Living in Germany: Battles over Bürgergeld, rolling the ‘die’ and carnival lingo

From the push to reform long-term unemployment benefits to the lingo you need to know as Carnival season kicks off, we look at the highlights of life in Germany.

Published: 14 November 2022 09:54 CET
Living in Germany: Battles over Bürgergeld, rolling the 'die' and carnival lingo

Deadlock looms as debates over Bürgergeld heat up 

Following a vote in the Bundestag on Thursday, the government’s planned reforms to long-term unemployment benefits are one step closer to becoming reality. Replacing the controversial Hartz IV system, Bürgergeld (or Citizens’ Allowance) is intended to be a fair bit easier on claimants.

Not only will the monthly payment be raised from €449 to €502, but jobseekers will also be given a grace period of two years before checks are carried out on the size of their apartment or savings of up to €60,000. The system will also move away from sanctions with a so-called “trust period” of six months, during which benefits won’t be docked at all – except in very extreme circumstances. 

Speaking in parliament, Labour Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) said the spirit of the new system was “solidarity, trust and encouragement” and praised the fact that Bürgergeld would help people get back into the job market with funding for training and education. But not everyone is happy about the changes. In particular, politicians from the opposition CDU/CSU parties have responded with outrage at the move away from sanctions.

CDU leader Friedrich Merz has even branded the system a step towards “unconditional Basic Income” and argued that nobody will be incentivised to return to work. 

The CDU and CSU are now threatening to block the Bürgergeld legislation when it’s put to a vote in the Bundesrat on Monday. With the conservatives controlling most of the federal states – and thus most of the seats in the upper house – things could get interesting. Be sure to keep an eye out for our coverage in the coming weeks to see how the saga unfolds. 

Tweet of the week

When you first start learning German, picking the right article to use can truly be a roll of the “die” – so we’re entirely on board with this slightly unconventional way to decide whether you’re in a “der”, “die”, or “das” situation. (Warning: this may not improve your German.) 

Where is this?

Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Boris Roessler

Residents of Frankfurt am Main and the surrounding area will no doubt recognise this as the charming town of Kronberg, which is nestled at the foot of the Taunus mountains.

This atmospheric scene was snapped on Friday morning, when a drop in temperatures saw Kronberg and surrounding forests shrouded in autumnal fog.

After a decidedly warm start to November, the mercury is expected to drop into single digits over the weekend. 

Did you know?

November 11th marked the start of carnival season in Germany. But did you know that there’s a whole set of lingo to go along with the tradition? And it all depends on where you are. First of all, the celebration isn’t called the same thing everywhere. In the Rhineland, it’s usually called Karneval, while people in Bavaria or Saxony tend to call it Fasching. Those in Hesse and Saarland usually call it Fastnacht. 

And depending on where you are, there are different things to shout. The ‘fools call’ you’ll hear in Cologne is “Alaaf!” If you move away from Cologne, you’ll hear “Helau!” This is the traditional cry in the carnival strongholds of Düsseldorf and Mainz, as well as in some other German cities.

In the Swabian-Alemannic language region in the southwest of the country, people yell “Narri-Narro”, which means “I’m a fool, you’re a fool”. In Saarland at the French border, they shout “Alleh hopp!”, which is said to originate from the French language. 

Lastly, if someone offers you a Fastnachtskrapfe, say yes because it’s a jelly-filled carnival donut. And if you’re offered a Bützchen? It’s your call, but know that it’s a little kiss given to strangers!

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