Global Wealth Report 2026 | Allianz

Today, September 29, 2026, Allianz presented the 17th edition of its "Global Wealth Report," which provides an in-depth analysis of household wealth and debt in nearly 60 countries. The report shows that global household financial wealth will reach a new record in 2025, while market gains and the rise of artificial intelligence are making asset ownership increasingly crucial to determining who will benefit from future wealth creation.

Global financial wealth increased by 8,6% in 2025, reaching a record high of €268.4 trillion, despite the challenging geopolitical and economic environment. Market rallies played the leading role: rising asset values ​​generated approximately four out of five euros of new household wealth. New savings decreased by 5,4%, reaching €4.1 trillion. "Global wealth reached a new record in 2025, but that only tells half the story," said Ludovic Subran, Chief Economist and Chief Investment Officer at Allianz. "Since 2019, nominal financial assets have increased by 50%, but in real terms, adjusted for inflation, they have grown by only 23%. The situation is worse in Western Europe, where real financial assets increased by 0,5% compared to 2019, compared to 21% in North America and 70% in China.

The composition of investment portfolios increasingly determines who benefits from the gains from wealth creation. Financial securities increased 12,4% in 2025, more than double the growth rate of bank deposits (5,7%) and insurance/pensions (5,0%), bringing their share of global financial wealth to a record high of 46,9%. North American households, with 60,7% of portfolios invested in financial securities, benefited particularly significantly from market growth; North America accounted for 51,4% of the global increase in financial wealth. Over the past decade, increases in value accounted for 71% of financial wealth growth in North America, compared to just 36% in Western Europe, underscoring the importance of investing savings rather than keeping them in low-yielding bank accounts.

We estimate that global financial assets could grow by a solid 9% in 2026, but the medium-term outlook is becoming more complex as slowing growth, persistent inflation, fragmentation, and high public debt weigh on yields.

Looking ahead, AI is therefore the deciding factor: higher productivity and higher profits could support returns on financial assets, but the growing reliance on AI-driven markets to boost household wealth also creates vulnerabilities.

With the S&P 500 up nearly 95% since the end of 2022, much of the recent wealth gain is driven by elevated market valuations and AI-related expectations. According to our estimates, a 25% decline in the S&P 500 index would wipe out approximately $27 trillion in US household wealth within a year, equivalent to nearly 14% of total net worth, hurting confidence and consumption and pushing the US economy into recession.

But the issue of AI-related wealth isn't just about how much wealth is created, but also who reaps the benefits. "AI could become the next great wealth driver, but the key question is who will be able to participate," said Katharina Utermöhl, Head of Thematic & Policy Research at Allianz Research. "Since AI could shift a greater share of value creation to capital, broader participation in capital returns and policies that help workers adapt will be key to more widely distributing the wealth dividend generated by AI."

Italian households' gross financial wealth increased by 7,4% in 2025, reaching €6.500 trillion, accelerating from the 4,8% growth recorded in 2024. This figure is significantly higher than the Western European average of 4,5%, but remains lower than the global average of 8,6%.
Financial securities grew by 12,1%, significantly faster than insurance/pensions (4,1%) and bank deposits (1,5%), bringing their share of Italian portfolios from 51,7% to 54,0%. This is the highest share of securities in Western Europe, well above the regional average of 36,8% and the global figure of 46,9%. Consequently, the share of deposits fell from 26,1% to 24,7%.

New savings increased by 39,3%

New savings increased by 39,3%, reaching €67,4 billion. Securities accounted for 60,2% of this, followed by bank deposits at 27,9% and insurance/pensions at 16,3%, while other asset classes recorded net outflows of €3,0 billion. Among financial assets, Italian households invested €30,6 billion in mutual fund shares and €24,5 billion in other securities, selling directly held shares with a net value of €14,6 billion. Adjusted for inflation, Italian financial assets grew by 5,7% in 2025 and have recorded a cumulative increase of 14,3% since 2019, well above the Western European average of 0,5%.

Household liabilities increased by 2,2%

Household liabilities increased by 2,2%, reaching €1.100 trillion, a much slower pace than financial assets. Consequently, net financial assets grew by 8,5%, reaching €5.400 trillion, while the liability-to-asset ratio declined from 17,2% to 16,4%. With net financial assets per capita of €91.730, Italy ranked 13th among the countries analyzed in 2025, unchanged from 2024.

The Italian translation of this document by Allianz SE is provided for information purposes only. All legal responsibility rests solely with the original English version.

(Cover image detail – by Allianz)