Finance: What does it mean to be rich in France in 2024?

Being rich in France is more than just a number on a pay slip. It is a standard of living, substantial wealth and a distinct social status. The report on the rich in France, 2024 edition, offers us a clear vision of this reality. We'll explore the key findings from this eye-opening report.

Finance and Income Wealth

France, the European leader in attractiveness, surprises us with this 2024 wealth report. In fact, he teaches us that 4.7 million French people (out of 68 million) are considered to have high incomes. These people have a monthly income after taxes greater than 3,860 euros for a single person, 5,790 euros for a couple, or 9,650 euros for a family with two children over fourteen years old. This represents approximately 7.4% of the French population.

Despite a decrease of 1.5 points compared to 2011, these rich people in France have seen their standard of living increase. In fact, half of them have a standard of living higher than 1.28 times the wealth threshold in 2021, compared to 1.26 times in 2011.

There growth in income of the rich is especially marked at the top of the income scale. THE The richest 1% in France captured 7.7% of all income before taxes in the early 1980s. This share now reaches 12.7% in 2022, according to the World Inequality Database.

So, finance plays a crucial role, because income from investments (Bitcoin and other cryptos included) and financial investments reinforce this wealth. The rich in France are therefore supported by a combination of high salaries and diversified financial flows. And Unfortunately fraudsters.

The wealth of heritage

In terms of heritage, the report reveals that 16.9% of French households have net assets greater than 531,000 euros, or more than three times the median assets (excluding debt). Among these households, 10% of the richest have more than 716,300 euros.

The highest assets climb very high: millionaires represent 5% of householdsand the 1% of the top holds at least 2.2 million euros per household.

The concentration of wealth in the hands of the wealthiest has increased to the detriment of the rest of the population. The share of the richest 10% increased from 41% to 47% of all household wealth between 2010 and 2021.

In parallel, the weight of the 500 greatest professional fortunes has increased almost tenfold in 20 yearsgoing from 124 billion euros in 2003 to 1,170 billion euros in 2023. This concentration of wealth is largely attributable to massive profits from finance and large French groups (like LVMH)thus creating significant economic disparities.

Senior managers, older and male

The report also highlights the demographic characteristics of the wealthy in France. In 2020, 25.5% of executives were considered richa proportion almost twice as high as among the self-employed, and incommensurate with the probability of being rich for a worker (1%) or for an employee (2%).

Senior executives, particularly those in the private sector, dominate this category, with 43% of the high earners being private executives and 21% civil service executives.

Wealth is also linked to age : the share of rich people in the population increases with age, going from 1% of households before age 30 to 10% among those aged 55-59, and reaching a peak at 15% between ages 60 and 64. In addition, the resources of rich couples come mainly from the men's income.

Men outnumber women twice to occupy positions offering salaries in the top 10% of the hierarchy, and 3.4 times more present than women in the top 1%. So, the rich in France are often elderly men (like Bernard Arnault)holding senior management positions, and deriving significant income from finance and financial investments.

The 2024 report on the rich in France reveals marked disparities in terms of income and wealth, highlighting the importance of finance in the accumulation of wealth and asking many questions about economic fairness.