By Laura Fleischmann
Published on
Global private financial wealth grew by 7.4 per cent in 2025 – significantly outpacing inflation, which remained below 3 per cent in each of the major economic areas. In Germany it stood at 2.2 per cent. That is according to the ‘Global Wealth Report 2026’ published today by the management consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
Growth driven above all by strong equity markets
The main driver of the increase in wealth was last year’s performance on the stock markets. In Germany, total wealth as of the reporting date of 31 December 2025 amounted to around 23.3 trillion US dollars. More than half of this is held in real assets – primarily in property.
BCG refers to people with financial assets of more than 100 million US dollars as ‘super-rich’ or ‘Ultra High Net Worth Individuals’ (UHNWIs). In Germany, this group now comprises around 5,000 people – roughly 1,100 more than a year earlier. Worldwide, there are just under 97,000 super-rich individuals, more than a third of whom live in the United States.
A significant share of wealth is concentrated in this small group: the roughly 5,000 super-rich account for 27.3 per cent of all financial wealth in Germany. For comparison: the approximately 769,000 dollar millionaires – people with financial assets of between one and 100 million US dollars – together own 25.5 per cent, and thus less than the super-rich alone. Set against this are around 66 million people in Germany with financial assets of less than 250,000 US dollars.
The wealth gap continues to widen
‘The concentration of wealth at the top is continuing to increase,’ says BCG partner Michael Kahlich, as quoted by Der Spiegel. Wealthier people are able to diversify their assets more broadly and invest more heavily in high-yield asset classes such as equities or private equity. ‘That structurally accelerates wealth accumulation,’ says Kahlich. According to BCG, the share of the super-rich in Germany’s financial wealth is likely to continue rising through to 2030.
Despite a downward trend, roughly one third of Germany’s financial wealth is still held in cash and in current, fixed-term and savings accounts, according to Stern magazine. A further 25 per cent is tied up in life insurance policies and pensions.
Politically explosive figures
According to BCG, the comparatively weak equity investment culture is one reason why Germany’s net wealth is expected to grow more slowly over the coming years than the West European and global averages. Added to this are structural burdens such as a largely stagnant economy, demographic change and weak productivity growth.
The new data are also likely to fuel the coalition’s internal debate on tax policy. The federal government is currently wrangling over how to finance a major reform package. After the SPD initially came out in favour of higher taxes on the wealthy, conservative politicians such as Saxony’s minister-president Michael Kretschmer have recently also signalled openness to higher levies on large fortunes.