Here’s the real riddle. While so many people appear to be struggling to make ends meet, it was recently announced that Australian adults enjoy the second highest median wealth in the world (after Luxembourg). How do we reconcile the numbers?
How can we be so rich and yet so poor? Maybe we rank second in wealth but first in complaining about being poor? That’s because it’s hard to link statistical economic fortune to a report this week from charity Good360 Australia that found one in seven Australians find it difficult to afford soap and detergent.
The average wealth of Australians increased by about 10 per cent last year, according to the latest UBS Global Wealth Report. This is a number that any government would normally shout loudly, but this is due to the fact that both sides of politics have focused their arguments on addressing cost issues. Crisis of life.
The gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots” continues to widen. Credit: AP
Before we go any further, the UBS wealth ranking that placed Australia in second place quotes median rather than average wealth, so the statistics generated by the fortunes of billionaires such as Andrew Forrest and Gina Reinhart. It is important to note that the noise above is cut.
In other words, Australians as a nation are rapidly increasing their wealth, at least statistically. Median wealth increased by 5% in 2023, but if you dig deeper, average wealth grew at twice that rate. This suggests that wealthy Australians are increasing their wealth at a faster pace than their poorer counterparts.
The current wealth pyramid shows the widening gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots.”
Almost 2 million Australians with more than $1.5 million are at the pointy end of the pyramid, and about the same number are at the bottom with less than $15,000. In the middle bulge, 11.7 million people have assets between $150,000 and $1.5 million, and about 4 million people have assets between $15,000 and $150,000. .
The two wealthiest groups have been hit hardest by ongoing inflationary pressures and are under pressure on the cost of living.
