SHARE
COPY LINK

WEALTH

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

Germany has snagged third place in a ranking showing the ultra rich of the world, while the number of millionaires has also gone up despite the pandemic.

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

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

BANKING

Card over cash? Why Germany is seeing a new payment preference

Cash has long been king in Germany, with many smaller retailers refusing to join the rest of the world in adopting contactless payment systems. But card-based payments are on the rise, as recent stats about Girocard use reveal.

Card over cash? Why Germany is seeing a new payment preference

Germany has long been a very cash-based country, occasionally to the dismay of frustrated tourists at the Döner shop.

A few German phrases express the people’s love of physical money. There’s ‘only cash is true’ – Nur Bares ist Wahres. Or Bargeld lacht, literally meaning cash laughs, but used to imply that cash is what’s wanted, similar to ‘cash is king’ in English.

But the classic German preference for cash appears to be evolving, as the use of girocards is growing, even for small transactions.

How are girocards being used?

Girocard, an ATM and debit card service offered by German Banks, was designed to allow customers to use virtually all German ATMs and, increasingly, to make purchases at businesses.

READ ALSO: Ask an expert – Why is cash still so popular in Germany, and is it changing?

Last year, consumers in Germany used their Girocard more often than ever before for cashless payments. A total of €7.48 billion payment transactions with the plastic card were counted – 11.5 percent more than in the previous record year 2022, according to figures published by the Frankfurt-based institution Euro Card Systems.

Whether at the bakery, petrol station or supermarket, customers are increasingly pulling out their cards at the checkout, even for smaller amounts. As a result, the average amount paid with the Girocard fell from €42.34 to €40.69 within a year. 

The rise of card payments in Germany

Contactless payment, which is possible with girocards and credit cards that have an NFC chip, got a boost during the Covid pandemic, as retailers promoted it for hygiene reasons. 

But the use of card payments has continued to grow in Germany since then, boosted partly by the increasing use of girocards.

Promoting the use of girocards, some German banks have expanded their cards’ functions: Sparkassen, Volksbanken, or Raiffeisenbanken offer girocards for the digital wallet, for example.

Banks want to continue upgrading the payment card with further applications. For example, a project is being tested which would add an age verification function to girocards that would be useful when a customer is buying cigarettes.

On the retail side, it’s clear why the Girocard is preferred to other debit options.

“We see that debit cards from international providers cost up to four times more,” Ulrich Binnebößel, Head of the Payment Systems & Logistics Department at the German Retail Association (HDE) told DPA.

What’s the difference between the Girocard and other debit?

The Girocard is a strictly German phenomenon. It can be seen as the latest iteration of the EC card, which was created to consolidate payment systems following the unification of former East and West Germany.

In 1991 different debit card systems, including Eurocheque guarantee cards from former West Germany and Geldkarte ATMs from former East Germany, were unified into Eurocheque cards.

Then in 2001, the Eurocheque system was disbanded, but German banks continued to use the EC logo for “electronic cash’” cards, or EC cards. In 2007, the German Banking Industry Committee introduced Girocard as a common name for electronic cash and the German ATM network.

Girocards are only issued and accepted in Germany, so if you want to get one of your own, you’ll have to join a German bank, and shell out those notorious German banking fees.

READ ALSO: Why it’s almost impossible to find a free bank account in Germany

Alternatively, you can get by with internationally accepted debit cards provided by a bank in your home country, or otherwise by joining an app-based European banking service like N26. 

But be warned, without the Girocard in hand, at some smaller retailers you may be told, “Leider nur Bargeld oder EC-Karte.

With reporting by DPA

SHOW COMMENTS