Typical wealth of people in France revealed: Where do you fall?

France is said to be among the most well-off countries in the world, with a higher median wealth per person than, for example, those in Germany and the US

The median wealth of people in France is €177,200 including property, while one in 10 holds more than €716,000, and one in 100 has more than €2.24million, a new study released on January 25 shows.

The ‘median’ means that half of the population holds less, and the other half more. The calculation and figures come from the national statistics institute Insee and concern the year 2021.

The latest study from Credit Suisse in 2022 also shows that France has a higher median wealth than, for example, Germany and the US.

The €177,200 number includes property but does not take into account loans or mortgages yet to be repaid.

The top 1%?

• It means that, if your property is worth €177,200 or more, and even if you have nothing in the bank, you are still technically among the 50% richest in France.

• To be in the 10% richest households, you must hold at least €716,300 in assets.
• To be in the 1%, you must have at least €2.24million. There are 282,000 such households in France.

On average, property is the main asset for 62% of households. Yet, the higher in the scale, the smaller the percentage of wealth is made up of property (at just 36% among the richest households).

Read also: How do I find out the estimated value of property online in France?

For these people, their wealth from their profession becomes more of a factor, rising from 11% for most households, to 34% for the 1% richest.

Wealth of most households

• Property: 62%
• Professional: 11%
• Financial: 21%
• Other: 6%

Wealth of the top 1% of households

• Property: 36%
• Professional: 34%
• Financial: 27%
• Other: 3%

Age change

The figures also show that wealth changes over the course of life.

For people under 30, their gross wealth is 1.5 times higher than their net wealth (€71,200 compared to €43,200). This is mainly because they still have more in loans to repay.

The average gross wealth amount peaks at €400,000 for people aged 50 to 59, while net wealth peaks for people in their 60s, at €361,400. This falls on average for people in their 70s to €343,800.

Read more: Five tips to enjoy a long and financially secure retirement in France

How much is ‘rich’?

The new stats come after a report from September 2022 showed that a person is considered ‘rich’ in France when they earn at least €3,673 net per month, or €5,500 for a childless couple and €7,700 for a couple with two children.

This equates to just 7% of the population, or 4.5 million people.

Read also: How much do you need to earn to count as rich in France?

Financial assets

Individual amounts for the 21% of wealth held in financial assets ranges by net worth being perhaps solely cash in a current account for the 10% of people at the lower end who have less than €400 on average, to large holdings of shares and stocks for those at the higher end, the 10% with financial assets averaging €150,000.

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