Wealth of women has risen due to their increasing labor force participation

Women’s wealth has grown relative to that of men in most countries due to rising female labor force participation, more equal division of wealth between spouses and other factors.

Traditionally, inheritance has been a more important source of wealth for women than for men - partly because lower incomes restricted accumulation on their own account, partly due to widowhood, and partly because females hold on to bequests longer than male heirs because they tend to live longer. The reduced flow of inherited wealth over the first half of the 20th century tended to lower the relative wealth of women due to their greater dependence on inheritance.

Parental financial help and inheritance may support millennials accumulate wealth

Millennials have not been a lucky cohort, according to the report. Not only were they hit at a young age by the global financial crisis, its associated recession and the poor job prospects that followed, but they have also been disadvantaged in many countries by high house prices, low interest rates and low incomes, making it difficult for them to buy property or accumulate wealth. While millennials may appear to suffer from many disadvantages, parental financial help and inheritance may come to their aid. The expected surge in inherited wealth has consequences for wealth distribution and wealth inequality for developed countries and emerging economies alike. Inheritances are expected to have more significant wealth distribution consequences in future, probably adding to the inequality pressures from other sources.

Number of millionaires will reach almost 63 million in the next five years

Global wealth is projected to rise by 27% over the next five years, reaching USD 459 trillion by 2024. Low-and middle-income countries are responsible for 38% of the growth, although they account for just 31% of current wealth. Growth by middle-income countries will be the primary driver of global trends. The number of millionaires will also grow markedly over the next five years to reach almost 63 million, while the number of UHNWIs will reach 234,000.

Anthony Shorrocks, economist and report author, said: “Global wealth grew during the past year but at a very modest rate of 2.6%. This low growth is partly attributable to US dollar appreciation: using 5-year average exchange rates, total wealth grew by 5.9% since end-2017, and wealth per adult by 3.8%. With almost two decades of data at our disposal, we can see two distinct phases of wealth growth. The century began with a ‘golden age’ of robust and inclusive wealth creation. But wealth growth collapsed during the financial crisis and growth never recovered to the level experienced earlier. There was a seismic change at the time of the financial crisis, when China and other emerging market economies took over as the engine of wealth creation. Meanwhile, the United States has maintained an astonishing 11 year spell of increasing wealth per adult.”

Nannette Hechler-Fayd’herbe, Chief Investment Officer International Wealth Management and Global Head of Economics & Research at Credit Suisse, said: “Despite the trade tension between US and China over the past 12 months, both countries have fared strongly in wealth creation contributing USD 3.8tn and USD 1.9tn respectively. The number of millionaires has also risen globally by 1.1million to 46.8 million in 2019, collectively owning USD 158.3 trillion or 44% of the global total. China and other emerging markets have contributed significantly to this growing contingent and show signs of progress and opportunity for investors.”

1Emerging Markets refer to China plus Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), Thailand, Turkey and United Arab Emirates. To avoid double counting, countries in this list are excluded from the “Europe” and “High-Income Asia-Pacific” categories.



The Global Wealth Report 2019 is available at:

https://www.credit-suisse.com/ch/en/about-us/research/research-institute.html

About the Credit Suisse Research Institute

The Credit Suisse Research Institute is Credit Suisse's in-house think tank. The Institute was established in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis with the objective of studying long-term economic developments, which have – or promise to have – a global impact within and beyond the financial services. Further information about the Credit Suisse Research Institute can be found at www.credit-suisse.com/researchinstitute.