{
  "id": 3440133,
  "title": "Vermögen: Bin ich schon reich oder nicht? Dieser Rechner liefert Ihnen die Antwort",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/vermogen-bin-ich-schon-reich-oder-nicht-dieser-rechner-liefert-ihnen",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-26T05:50:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/finanzen/anlagestrategie/reichtum-mit-diesem-rechner-sehen-sie-wie-reich-sie-im-vergleich-sind-01/100149729.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "The debate over who qualifies as wealthy is complex and subjective. Economists, sociologists, investors, and private bankers differ in their definitions. Ultimately, wealth is a matter of personal definition. To gauge how wealthy Germans are on average, the Deutsche Bundesbank recently surveyed nearly 4,000 households, including efforts to reach wealthier ones.\n\nBased on this data, the Handelsblatt developed a calculator to help determine one's level of wealth relative to the portion of the population they consider wealthy. This tool allows for a concrete comparison: where does your current liquid wealth stand compared to the population segment you deem wealthy?\n\nData from the Bundesbank reveals that in all population groups, wealth has grown from 2010 to 2023, even accounting for inflation. Judith Niehues of the German Institute for Economic Research (IW) in Cologne attributes this positive trend to two factors: firstly, many Germans were able to save and build wealth up until the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondly, investments like stocks and real estate gained value during the low-interest-rate phase, far exceeding the inflation level.\n\nMaximilian Stockhausen adds that particularly between 2017 and 2021, the assets of the bottom 50 percent also increased, leading to a slight rise in their share of total net wealth, albeit at a minimal level. This applies to all households with a wealth below 105,000 euros. In contrast, the top 10 percent possess significantly more: just 800,000 euros are needed to be in this elite category.\n\nHow has the wealth of the top 1 percent evolved? Other datasets confirm this positive development across all wealth tiers. Charlotte Bartels from the University of Leipzig examined German wealth distribution in a 2024 study, adjusting the figures with a correction factor. This factor accounts for respondents often underestimating their personal wealth, especially the value of real estate, equity holdings, and life insurance. Consequently, the numbers calculated with this correction factor are significantly higher.\n\nBartels' approach is also used to explain why Germans often report lower wealth in international comparisons. The Handelsblatt has built a second version of the calculator based on her data. However, the data shows that across all population groups, and even after accounting for inflation, there is considerably more wealth today than in 2002. However, there are varying developments depending on the group of wealthier individuals.\n\nFrom the average wealth of the top 50 percent in the distribution to the top 3 percent, there is a similar trend: all show a slight dip in the curve between 2011 and 2014. Bartels attributes this to two reasons: firstly, there was underreporting of particularly wealthy individuals in surveys after 2011, leading to some data unreliability. Secondly, real estate values significantly increased from these years onward. The top 2 percent, however, have largely seen a steady increase in wealth, mainly due to business assets. Bartels explains that the value of companies has continued to rise steadily despite all crises, as seen in the data.",
  "summary": "Trotz Inflation zeigen aktuelle Daten, dass die Vermögen in Deutschland gewachsen sind. Der Handelsblatt-Rechner zeigt Ihnen, wo Sie im Vergleich zur deutschen Bevölkerung stehen.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}