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Report: Switzerland is no longer world’s richest country

The US has overtaken Switzerland as the world’s richest country in terms of wealth per household, according to a study by financial services provider Allianz.

Published: 27 September 2017 11:46 CEST

Report: Switzerland is no longer world’s richest country

Photo: Christof Sonderegger/Swiss Tourism

The eighth edition of its Global Wealth Report, released on Wednesday, studied the asset and debt situation of households in more than 50 countries during 2016.

Traditionally top of the global list, Switzerland was bumped into second place by the US in the report’s ranking of net per capita financial assets.

Switzerland’s net per capita financial assets rose by 2.7 percent in 2016 to 175,720 euros, while the US saw growth of 5.8 percent to take it to 177,210 euros.

Allianz acknowledged in a press release that the America’s lead was “razor-thin”, adding that “some of the credit goes to a stronger dollar”.

Japan retained its third position, with Scandinavian and Asian countries dominating the top 20.

The next richest European country after Switzerland was Sweden, on 95,050 euros net per capita

Switzerland did retain top position globally in the list of gross per capita financial assets.

However it also topped the debt table for western Europe with a figure of 93,120 euros per capita, far ahead of the next most indebted European country, Norway, on 69,560 euros per capita.

Worldwide, gross financial assets grew by 7.1 percent to a new record high of 170 trillion euros said Allianz.

Global household debt rose by 5.5 percent in 2016, the highest increase since 2007, though the picture varied widely between regions.

Despite the steep rise in debt, net financial assets (gross assets minus debt) rose to a new high of 128.5 trillion euros globally, a 7.6 percent increase, well above the previous year’s growth.

Inheritance in Switzerland: Which country's laws should dual nationals follow?

First, let’s look at what Swiss inheritance / succession legislation says.

Who gets what depends on whether you have a will or not when you die (the latter’s legal term is ‘intestate.’)

If you don’t have a will, your estate will be divvied up among your legal heirs: spouse or registered partner and children.

Typically, the spouse gets half of your assets and the children the other half, to be divided equally among them.

In case you have no kids, your parents or even grandparents could inherit from you.

Next in the statuary succession rights are siblings.

If, however, you have no living relatives whatsoever, your estate will go to the canton or commune of your last residence.

What if you do have a will?

It will give you some, though not total, flexibility in who you want to leave your assets to — and how much.

For instance, you can choose who your heirs will be and how your estate should be distributed among them.

You can decide to give more than a half to your spouse and less to the children, or vice-versa.

However, your legal heirs — that is, spouse and children — cannot be cut out of your will altogether.

Note that this law applies to Swiss citizens only. If you are a foreign national living in Switzerland, your succession is normally governed by the laws of your country.

However, if you a long-term resident and plan to remain here permanently — for instance, if you have a C permit — you can choose the Swiss law instead of the foreign one to apply upon your death. But you must state your preference in your will.

If you die intestate, then the Swiss legislation will kick in, as it will be deemed the law of your last place of residence.

READ ALSO: 7 things you need to know about Swiss inheritance law

What about dual nationals?

At present, those who have Swiss citizenship in addition to a foreign one, must abide by Switzerland’s inheritance law only.

That’s because, for all intents and purposes (including legal ones), they are considered to be Swiss citizens only.

However, this will soon change.

On December 22nd, 2023, the parliament adopted the Federal Act on International Private Law (PILA), which will give dual nationals in Switzerland the option of basing their succession on the laws of their ‘other’ country of citizenship.

However, in doing so, dual nationals can’t derogate from Swiss statuary succession rules — that is, they won’t be able to exclude spouses and children from inheriting their part of the estate.

The new legislation is expected to come into force on January 1st, 2025.

READ ALSO: What you should know about dying in Switzerland

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