A recent report has revealed that Germany is home to the third-largest number of “ultra-high net worth individuals” in the world. The report also found that private wealth in Germany, including assets like real estate, amounted to 20 trillion dollars.

Coronavirus-made millionaires

A new report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has revealed that, over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of people in the world with more than 100 million dollars (82,25 million euros) in financial wealth grew by 6.000, taking the ultra-rich club to more than 60.000 members worldwide.

Of these 60.000 ultra-wealthy individuals, 2.900 live in Germany, a number that puts Germany behind only the US and China. According to the BCG’s Global Wealth 2021 report, these ultra-rich Germans controlled around 1,4 trillion dollars of global investable wealth in 2020, a 6 percent increase on the previous year.

Private wealth in Germany soars

Private wealth in Germany, including that of cash, savings, stocks and shares, pensions and life insurance, totalled around 9 trillion dollars in 2020, an increase of around 6 percent. Real assets, like real estate, increased to 13 trillion dollars. So, after taking debts into account, private households in Germany hold a total of just under 20 trillion dollars in wealth.

“Traditionally, Germans prefer to invest in real estate rather than in securities, as the real value quota of almost 60 percent clearly shows," said Anna Zakrzewski, BCG partner and author of the study. "At the same time, investors in Germany save above average."

Saving over lockdown

Coronavirus in Germany also reinforced this propensity to save money, since shops and business remained closed for much of last year and travel to other countries was restricted. This has had a tangible effect on many people’s finances, with the number of dollar millionaires in Germany growing from 35.000 to around 542.000.

Globally, private financial wealth increased by around 8 percent to 250 trillion dollars in 2020.