British families have suffered the biggest fall in wealth in the rich world since Covid, with the average Brit’s wealth falling by more than a fifth over the last five years. The Telegraph has the story.
The average Briton’s wealth has fallen by more than a fifth over the last five years, according to UBS. The slump is the worst seen across the 37 countries it surveyed.
Typical individual wealth has fallen by around £28,500 since 2020 after accounting for inflation. It left the median adult with assets of just over £95,500 last year, making the British a touch richer than the French but poorer than the Dutch and the Italians.
Wealth, as measured by the value of assets such as property and stocks, has been rapidly eroded after inflation soared following the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Britain suffered a worse inflation shock than other developed nations as energy costs leapt.
A slowdown in the housing market has also fuelled the wealth slump.
British families have suffered a bigger blow than those in countries such as Turkey, Bulgaria, Mexico and Kazakhstan over the past five years.
UBS’s findings underline the challenges facing Andy Burnham as he prepares to become the next Prime Minister.
In his first major speech since returning to the Commons, the MP for Makerfield said this week: “We cannot go through another decade like the one we have just had. We need a new determination to raise the living standards of every person in this land.”
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday showed that Sir Keir Starmer had failed to deliver on his pledge to improve living standards, with families now worse off than they were before he became Prime Minister.
The UBS data show that the wealth of a typical individual has tumbled by more than 23% on both the mean and median measures since 2020.
It has been eroded by a sharp spike in inflation, which peaked at 11.1% in October 2022.
Worth reading in full.
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“…inflation soared following the pandemic…”
1. It wasn’t a pandemic
2. iT wAs bRExiT WhAT desTroYEd thE EConoMY
One of those is true.
Turkey currently has inflation running at 32%, I don’t see how we can be worse off then them? Still Communists love destroying nations and that’s all we get in office.
So most of the loss of wealth is down to incompetent governance. Thanks you load of self-absorbed onanists.
I expect Will Jones knows the difference between wealth and income but others quoted seem not to do so.
…by which I think you mean…
Income is (mainly) liquid, even if not readily available/disposable.
Wealth is accumulated (sometimes advantageously) but is often not that liquid.
For a fire to burn, fuel and oxygen are needed.
Rich people aren’t automatically the enemy. I’m not rich, but I appreciate they took risks that I didn’t. Within reason, they should keep a worthwhile share of that money.
If you decide to bet the house and you win you should get to keep the lion’s share of the upside, because most certainly if you’d have lost the government wouldn’t have compensated you at all.
There has to be a reason to strive, otherwise why stay here?
As well as taking risks, many rich people were also instrumental in creating products, business, services, entertainment that people want, find useful, enhance life. Many rich people are simply better at doing certain things that society values.
For wealth to be taxed, it first must be created. Penalising the former smothers the latter.
Albert Einstein: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
We must therefore do something different but the Powers That Be are not keen on change. Which is why Boris was ‘caked’, Liz Truss was bounced out, and Andrew Murray Burnham will achieve nothing.
Surely Liz was lettuced.
Bailey-ed
😂
He’s not up to the job.