China overtakes US to grab top spot as wealthiest nation amid global wealth surge

As reported by Bloomberg, Jan Mischke, a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute in Zurich, in an interview said, “We are now wealthier than we have ever been.”

Over the last two decades, the global wealth has tripled with China leading the way and beating the US to grab the top spot worldwide. a new report by the research arm of consultants McKinsey & Co. that examines the national balance sheets of ten countries representing more than 60% of world income highlighted this key takeaway.

As reported by Bloomberg, Jan Mischke, a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute in Zurich, in an interview said, “We are now wealthier than we have ever been.”

According to the report, net worth worldwide rose to $514 trillion in 2020, from $156 trillion in 2000, according to the study. China accounted for almost one-third of the increase. Its wealth skyrocketed to $120 trillion from a mere $7 trillion in 2000, the year before it joined the World Trade Organization, speeding its economic ascent.

Held back by more muted increases in property prices, the US saw its net worth more than double over the period, to $90 trillion. In both countries — the world’s biggest economies — more than two-thirds of the wealth is held by the richest 10% of households, and their share has been increasing, the report said.

As computed by McKinsey, 68% of global net worth is stored in real estate. The balance is held in such things as infrastructure, machinery and equipment and, to a much lesser extent, so-called intangibles like intellectual property and patents.