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Over the last two decades, global wealth has tripled, with China leading the way and surpassing the United States as the world’s wealthiest country.
That’s one of the conclusions drawn from a recent analysis by McKinsey & Co.’s research department, which looked at the national financial sheets of ten countries accounting for more than 60% of global revenue.
“We are now wealthier than we have ever been,” Jan Mischke, a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute in Zurich, said in an interview.
According to the analysis, global net worth increased from $156 trillion in 2000 to $514 trillion in 2020. China was responsible for about a third of the rise. Its wealth soared to $120 trillion in 2000, up from $7 trillion the year before it joined the World Trade Organization, which accelerated its economic rise.
The United States’ net worth more than doubled throughout the time, to $90 trillion, despite more moderate rises in housing values.
According to the report, the richest 10% of households in both countries — the world’s two largest economies — own more than two-thirds of the wealth, and their proportion is growing.