Asset inequalities have increased in 20 years, according to a recent INSEE report. 92% of the total wealth is now held by half of households. This study shows that the wealthiest households have notably benefited from the rise in real estate prices.
Inequalities which have widened since the end of the 90s. Published on October 17, an INSEE report shows the evolution of the amount of French wealth between 1998 and 2021. Main lesson of this study: during the last year observation, 92% of the total wealth of the French was held by only half of the households. “The gross wealth of households is mainly made up of real estate (62%), but also financial assets (21%), professional assets (11%), and finally other durable goods (cars, household equipment, etc.) and valuable objects (7% residual assets)“, details the institute in a summary note.
A rise in real estate prices which benefited the wealthiest
In fact, over the 20-year period studied, the 10% of households with the least gross assets saw their assets decrease by 2% on average per year. On the other hand, the 10% of households best off in this area saw their assets increase by 4% on average per year. How to explain this trend? “The decline in the lowest incomes“and the”dynamism high income ” have accentuated the inequality trend, underlines the report. The increase in property prices in recent years has thus benefited the wealthiest households to consolidate their assets.
The INSEE survey also provides information on other aspects of French heritage. Thus, three out of ten people have inherited during their lifetime. Looking more closely, the different wealth level brackets can be found in the analysis of this data: “14% of the 10% of people least endowed with gross assets have inherited, compared to 44% of the 10% best endowed“, notes the document. In other words, the households which are already best equipped with assets are also those… who inherit the most. A phenomenon which amplifies, here too, the increase in inequalities.
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Finally, other figures help us understand the difficulty, for certain households, in taking out loans from their banks. “In 2021, 10.1% of households indicated that they had not been able to access credit as they wished over the previous three years.“, or one household in ten, indicates the summary of the INSEE report. These may be loans refused – or finally granted, but with at least one constraint on the part of their bank. “5.5% of households did not request any credit between 2018 and 2020, anticipating that they would be refused“, is also added in this study.
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