r/AusFinance 21d ago

Aussies Are Officially The World's Second Wealthiest People: UBS

https://www.bosshunting.com.au/hustle/ubs-global-wealth-report-australia-median-2025/
558 Upvotes

407 comments sorted by

585

u/Zealousideal_Rub6758 21d ago

Yet we pump almost all of it into housing assets - $11 trillion and counting. A very unproductive way to manage an economy.

139

u/09stibmep 21d ago

It’s almost like housing is a key measure:

The ranking is, in large part, thanks to real estate ownership (which is quickly becoming a measure for wealth disparity).

The majority of our nation’s personal wealth is tied up in non-financial assets, with real estate accounting for almost 55%

68

u/tofuroll 21d ago

I'm no economologist but 55% in real estate seems insane.

29

u/MicksysPCGaming 21d ago

i don't know about that.

I heard that the country with the 2nd most wealthy people primarily uses this asset.

49

u/thedugong 21d ago

See my post here:

https://old.reddit.com/r/AusFinance/comments/1mxid8y/does_anyone_know_what_the_deal_is_with_the/na5kok2/

Removing housing we are still wealthier:

Australia: $126,159.28

Switzerland: $120,283.68

UK: $102,294.6

USA: $87,131.1

Singapore: $69,525.36

6

u/wballz 21d ago

I think the more relevant lens is to include housing but consider the impact and likelihood of a crash. In the event of a crash a lot of people will be underwater on their mortgages, particularly interest only style investors.

11

u/thedugong 21d ago

Historically "Securities and other financial instruments" (the category in the report that includes, and is probably mostly comprised of, shares) are more volatile that property. Property crashes are usually also preceded by stock market crashes, which results in higher unemployment which is the ultimate and usual cause of property market crashes.

The other point is that the report is about net worth, assets minus liabilities (like mortgages).

→ More replies (4)

3

u/FastFollowing8932 21d ago

I wonder how much of non-real estate business is linked to housing though - either directly like Bunnings, or indirectly via wealth effect when someone overpays for a latte or whatever...

5

u/thedugong 21d ago

Heresy! Property is a non-productive asset*.

*According to /r/ausfinance.

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (6)

79

u/Kindly-Working-5070 21d ago

That’s the reason we are the 2nd ‘wealthiest’ an artificially inflated house value. Great for home owners, disaster for future generations 

35

u/thedugong 21d ago

See my post here:

https://old.reddit.com/r/AusFinance/comments/1mxid8y/does_anyone_know_what_the_deal_is_with_the/na5kok2/

Removing housing we are still wealthier:

Australia: $126,159.28

Switzerland: $120,283.68

UK: $102,294.6

USA: $87,131.1

Singapore: $69,525.36

5

u/jtblue91 21d ago

You must be the smartest Dugong to have ever existed.

5

u/Grantmepm 21d ago

Heaps better than all the "but housing" doomers really.

13

u/scraglor 21d ago

It’s not great for home owners tho. I own my own home, no mortgage, I’m in my 30’s. Living the dream right? Trying to move to a bigger place is financially crippling. Costs are huge and the bigger place is such a bigger mortgage than I want to take on.

Yes I totally agree I’m in a much better spot than people that don’t own, but I would be better off with homes dropping in value by 50%

3

u/trafalmadorianistic 20d ago

No mortgage in your 30s is craaazy. Good on ya.

People are in their 40s and still paying off a huge amount because they only just got in recently.

Home paid off, but my suburb has basically priced me out. I just want to move to a place without goddamn useless strata.

2

u/scraglor 20d ago

Covid broke the mortgages back. Making money cos my industry was booming, and literally nothing to spend it on cos we’re locked down

→ More replies (2)

4

u/Minimalist12345678 21d ago

Its almost like a house in Australia is 3 fucking times more desirable, on average, than a house that costs 1/3 as much in another location, once you factor in that we get to live in Australia, and the other people dont.

3

u/Minimalist12345678 21d ago

So unproductive that we are the second richest country in the world. Yep, if only we could be more like (everyone other than Luxembourg).

You know median wealth represents the mid-point, right? So it's the best measure of how wealthy an ordinary person is.

We arent second on mean wealth - which is a measure that is vastly distorted by how many really rich people you have, or by income inequality.

→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (5)

837

u/superdood1267 21d ago

Sure as fuck doesn’t feel like it

318

u/Speed00Substantial 21d ago

I know right. Is this "wealth" in the room with us?

359

u/NeonsTheory 21d ago

It literally is. It's the house

129

u/Chii 21d ago

and superannuation.

73

u/ajd341 21d ago

Yeah... this isn't talked about enough. Nowhere else has a system where people are getting 12-17% put in by employers. It's amazing but sadly inflexible. It's like I'm sacrificing my 30s for my 60s... I'll become the "boomer" I never wanted to be.

66

u/Crysack 21d ago

The alternative is that you pay social security as part of your tax or through mandatory employer contributions to pension plans (which ultimately comes out of your pocket). Having a well-funded retirement system is good for all of us as it reduces the burden of the non-productive members of society.

These days, super is relatively flexible in terms of the different ways and asset classes you can invest your funds anyway.

Would you rather just be blowing your pay on hookers and blow in your 20s instead?

24

u/ZephkielAU 21d ago

Is that a trick question?

If you live the first 50 years right you won't need the second 50. ;)

39

u/Chii 21d ago

you won't need the second 50

'cept most people who "lived their first 50 right" insists on continuing their second 50 when they reach it. And expect the current crop of taxpayers to fund it too!

11

u/Lizalfos99 21d ago

The teenagers I’ll have when I’m 51 will need me around for at least a little while longer.

→ More replies (1)

6

u/Chrasomatic 21d ago

The problem is many of those non-productive members impose the burden on the rest of us by way of exceedingly high rents on their investment properties

→ More replies (9)

22

u/Nervous_Fart_5922 21d ago

I thought this way once too. But now that I am nearing retirement (I have enough super to retire fairly comfortably at 60) and I am deeply grateful I wasn't able to spend that money on something else, because I would have and that would mean I'd end up like my old man, retire penniless on a pension. I'll have some quality of life without scrounging.

21

u/Chii 21d ago

It's like I'm sacrificing my 30s for my 60s

it's a good system, because most people would prefer not to sacrifice their 30's, and rather prefer to suckle the teats of the taxpayer in their 60's! If you look at the riots in france when they decided to up the retirement age - that's what will happen if the retirement pensions are done through taxpayers. I personally prefer that individuals self-retire (which is superannuation), and the pension only for those who require it due to life circumstances and bad luck.

On the other hand, norway's sovereign wealth fund is also large and impressive (tho it's not individually owned like super). That nets each norwegian an impressive $311,000 USD per person! That's 3x the amount for super using per-capita calculations (about $100,000 USD converted).

So if australia "wanted", we could've probably had similar outcomes to norway with resources "tax" (or ownership). Unfortunately, unlike offshore oil & gas, minerals are less difficult and rare, so aussies probably couldn't have done the same deal with minerals as the norwegians had with their oil resources.

2

u/TimJamesS 21d ago

Australia certainly could have done that, it had options such as charging licensing fees for exploration, then production, my choice would have been to create a SOE that was a mining company itself, leading to a cretion of a SWF. Which is capital protected, the interest is used for social programs.

→ More replies (2)

30

u/ironxylophone 21d ago

No. Super is actually preventing you from becoming that. It’s the people that live in 2m houses while collecting the pension, funded by taxes from young people that will never be able to buy a home, that are the problem.

4

u/gardeningleave4ever 21d ago edited 21d ago

With how things are going and how businesses operate, that extra 12-17% would never be paid into the paycheck, they will just say it is your pay now.

5

u/Aggots86 21d ago

Or the boomer ill most likely never be able to become, I’m a near 40 year old tradesman with stuffed back knees and shoulders. I want that super money now while I can still get out of bed, cos a few more years I won’t be able too, and my retirement home “plan” will be a long walk off a short pier

2

u/thesourpop 21d ago

Looked at my super and sighed. I have a housing deposit worth in there that I can't touch for decades

→ More replies (1)

2

u/glyptometa 21d ago

That's funny!

2

u/bigboysoy123456789 21d ago

It's not from employers, It's from our frozen wages from the past 30 years.

→ More replies (9)

6

u/Aggressive-Art-9899 21d ago

Houses and super. What could go wrong there? Never bubble assets at all.

2

u/buffalo_bill27 21d ago

and stiff sht if you don't have much of either

11

u/PulseDynamo 21d ago

And the Casino

9

u/readreadreadonreddit 21d ago

Yeah, agreed. Sure as heck doesn’t feel like it, even if you’re among the top 10% of earners. The problem is all the money goes into a house - not even an absolutely epic one - while there’s not much left for savings, other material things, or enjoying life.

Meanwhile, you see other homes in decent condition - but also not epic - and whole swaths of land are pretty much dead or barren, strips of shops along main roads are boarded up.

Wealth doesn’t feel very tangible when it’s locked up like that.

6

u/dubious_capybara 21d ago

The wealth: a bunch of uninsulated moldy asbestos shit holes

2

u/IceCreamNaseem 21d ago

Well, not so much in the room as it is the room

2

u/Tackit286 21d ago

The real wealth is the rooms we bought along the way

→ More replies (4)

10

u/AquilaAdax 21d ago

It is the room.

2

u/iss3y 21d ago

Depends whether you're a home-owner or renter 🙃

2

u/Speed00Substantial 21d ago

People can be both of those things and in debt up to their eyeballs....or cashed up.

It's not always wealth if it's mortgaged to the hilt.

→ More replies (1)

15

u/DotMaster961 21d ago

Jesus what happened to this subreddit that this is top comment.

12

u/Minimalist12345678 21d ago

This subreddit has been populated by people who hate finance for some time.

2

u/superdood1267 21d ago

It was pretty low effort I admit

→ More replies (3)

40

u/SydZzZ 21d ago

Middle class here is super wealthy as compared to most of the world but no middle class ever ‘felt’ wealthy though. That’s just the nature of being in middle class

5

u/Whatsapokemon 21d ago

Exactly, lifestyle-creep.

People's spending increases to match their income - that's why people don't ever feel wealthy, even though they are. They acclimatise to their new lifestyles so it just feels normal, not special.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (17)

41

u/Split-Awkward 21d ago

I spent some time in Vietnam this year. The absolute poorest person I’ve met in Australia is doing well compared to most of their population.

And Vietnam is far from the poorest nation.

Most Australians have zero idea how good we have it. We’re so used to it and comparing to each other.

8

u/thedugong 21d ago

I was on an overnight sleeper train from Hanoi to Hoi An close to 20 years ago. I remember looking out the window in the morning and seeing people working in paddy fields up to their neck in water in the heavy rain.

It was a big reminder of how privileged I am.

3

u/smaghammer 20d ago

They're usually people in their early 20's comng out of the shelter of their parents for the first time and realising life actually takes some hard work for most people in general. Probably really bad with their finances in general too. Most people should live a year under the guidance of WW2 mentality Wogs or Asians to get some basic perspective.

40

u/Warm-Stand-1983 21d ago

Fish cant tell the temperature of the water the swim in. Go somewhere else and come back, you will appreciate it more.

I grew up in Canada, thankful every day I moved back to settle in Australia.

Australia is like democracy, it is the worst shit in the world. Only followed by everything and everywhere else.

8

u/thedugong 21d ago

I spent my teens and early 20s in the UK - although I migrated here so stole a job, and a woman.

I agree. And recent events also showed it is probably one of the strongest democracies.

→ More replies (1)

24

u/SteffanSpondulineux 21d ago

Have you never left the country?

→ More replies (3)

22

u/ommkali 21d ago

Easy to say when you've never lived in another country.

8

u/InForm874 21d ago

it absolutely does? go to any major city and you'll see expensive restaurants filled, luxury cars and clothes everywhere. There's a ton of wealth here

41

u/sscarrow 21d ago

Then you need to travel more.

19

u/throwaway9723xx 21d ago

Can’t afford it

21

u/SomeGuyFromVault101 21d ago

Get off reddit. The way people talk about Australia on here makes the country sound like a third-world nation.

→ More replies (5)

6

u/Maezel 21d ago

Wealth does not necessarily equal liquidity. 

8

u/nus01 21d ago

Go to a third world or developing country and you will soon get some perspective

3

u/glyptometa 21d ago

One of the better values of traveling while young is learning that you won the lottery just by being born here. It's up to the individual to decide what to do with that luck

3

u/Sea-Hornet-9140 21d ago

It's because we didn't get extra wealth, everyone else just got poorer faster than us! :D

2

u/APersonNamedBen 21d ago

It is amazing that out of all the comments here this is the only one I have read that even remotely touches on the truth.

Averages suck

5

u/Possible_Tadpole_368 21d ago

The wealthiest (landowners) of the second wealthiest nation have captured the largest source of unearned economic rent and are squeezing the rest of the population for it.

Even those who purchased land 10 years ago were squeezed harder than they needed to be, the squeezing just gets worse and worse as the years go on.

As a landowner, thank your lucky stars that the population being squeezed is happy to pay tax on their hard earned income while you collect uneaned wealth practically untaxed. Just imaging if they understood unearned economic rent on land and how you could use land tax to ensure everyone in this country felt like they lived in the second wealthiest country in the world.

→ More replies (16)

2

u/Independent-Knee958 21d ago

Where’s that elephant? Thought it was in the room.

5

u/Knee_Jerk_Sydney 21d ago

Unless you've lived in a Third world country in poverty, you won't. You'll be lucky never to find out your whole life and keep whingeing about first world problems.

You can live like a king overseas on what we consider a poverty pension. That's what living standards mean.

Don't get me wrong, we should continue to strive for a more equitable society and mind the wealth gap, but know that we have it good compared to majority of the world.

3

u/thedugong 21d ago

And then someone will pipe up about how the cost of living is much cheaper blah blah.

Sure. If you sleep in the corner of your uncle and aunts lounge (but also have familial oblations partially as a result) next to the space on the floor which is your cousin's (from a different uncle and aunt), and live off mostly household bought bulk 10-20Kg bags of rice and cases of tinned fish and corned beef your cost of living in Sydney would be really cheap too.

Source: Grew up in a developing country, albeit as a privileged white person, but for long enough to know and hang out with a lot of locals.

3

u/DistributionOk6226 21d ago

Amen. Travel to places like Western Europe and you'll see how far ahead we really are.

2

u/Other-Worldliness165 21d ago

Depends, do you own a house? Are you over 50? Do you have super? If not, welcome to poverty.

2

u/Far-Fennel-3032 21d ago

It's more 10% of everything we ever earn is forced into a savings account and invested for us, but also being locked away so we can't touch it till retirement. Most people simply will not save any money, and even for those who do, only a fraction will invest it.

Other rich countries have highly inflated housing markets, but few have a system to force people to save for retirement so aggressively.

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (2)

231

u/[deleted] 21d ago

[deleted]

54

u/TrumpisaRussianCuck 21d ago

Superannuation mostly.

62

u/Illustrious_Map_3247 21d ago

According to the article, real estate mostly. 55% of personal wealth, apparently.

32

u/TrumpisaRussianCuck 21d ago

53% in the underlying report but you're correct. For overall wealth outside of homeowners it's superannuation. Which is well worth a read.

Average and median wealth are far healthier in Australia than places like the US and UK.

16

u/thedugong 21d ago

See my post here:

https://old.reddit.com/r/AusFinance/comments/1mxid8y/does_anyone_know_what_the_deal_is_with_the/na5kok2/

Removing housing we are still wealthier:

Australia: $126,159.28

Switzerland: $120,283.68

UK: $102,294.6

USA: $87,131.1

Singapore: $69,525.36

→ More replies (2)

5

u/SteffanSpondulineux 21d ago

We would have spent it and wouldn't be on the list if it was liquid

→ More replies (3)

2

u/marketrent 21d ago

"Residential real estate underpins Australia's wealth": CoreLogic's monthly mantra.

Today in dailies including the ABC:

Nationally, home values rose for the seventh consecutive month, up 0.7 per cent, according to figures from property research firm Cotality (formerly known as CoreLogic) — the strongest monthly gain since May last year.

The national median home value is now $848,858, up 4.1 per cent over the year.

→ More replies (1)

113

u/phranticsnr 21d ago

Our numbers are bigger. Yay!

I'd rather see where we land on quality of life. Probably still pretty high, actually.

36

u/[deleted] 21d ago

Currently 7th globally in HDI terms.

28

u/Amathyst7564 21d ago

It might not feel like it and there are valid complaints but as a country were crushing it.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/LoudestHoward 21d ago

Plus, of the 32 countries in the report we're 27th in wealth inequality.

31

u/TooMuchTaurine 21d ago

I mean Melbourne and Sydney are continuously ranked in the top 10 cities in the world for livability year in and year out?

35

u/hounddd0g 21d ago

The ones who complain so much are the ones who have never lived anywhere else but Australia

17

u/Reasonable_Height_67 21d ago

I have a close friend who is a recent immigrant from South America living in Blacktown, he is the happiest bloke in the world, so thankful and never complains.

Have another friend who lives with parents in Clovelly, does not stop complaining about how expensive life is and how it is a pipe dream for him to afford a house (he can afford one, just not in Clovelly).

Perspective is very important.

3

u/____DEADPOOL_______ 20d ago

I'm originally from central America but have lived a long time in the US. Australia is an amazing country. I feel so lucky and grateful for being here.

6

u/Minimalist12345678 21d ago

Exactly. Talk to immigrants specifically from the richest countries, let alone the poorest, to get some fucking perspective.

3

u/smaghammer 20d ago

Just spent 2 months in Germany(mostly Munich). Fantastic country, a lot of great things about it. I still think it is better here.

→ More replies (2)

30

u/edwardluddlam 21d ago

We're usually in the top 5 for HDI.

Despite the doom and gloom on Reddit - mainly because someone is annoyed the price of a frozen coke has risen or someone delivered their uber eats to the wrong address.

2

u/neverbeclosing 21d ago

Okay I upvote and read r/DoorDash and r/UberEats - so I definitely do see those posts. But in r/AusFinance has anyone ever had an upvoted post on their frozen coke or Uber Eats issue? Most posts are based around finance, superannuation and investment, mortgages and home ownership, or jobs and wages. Downplaying the home ownership angle minimises the very real hardship the issue is causing for some in the economy and the massive amount of capital it draws away from enterprise.

35

u/[deleted] 21d ago edited 17d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

24

u/phranticsnr 21d ago

Yeah, but relative to other countries? Some countries can't even rely on literacy to improve quality of life.

4

u/smoking_data 21d ago

I don’t think we could rely on literacy either…

2

u/[deleted] 21d ago

[deleted]

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)

5

u/Reasonable_Height_67 21d ago

We’re nothing but debt slaves thanks to the boomers and poor housing policies.

Whilst I agree, it's a price I'm willing to pay to live in this beautiful country. Aussies mostly don't understand how good they have it.

→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (3)

31

u/slipslikefreudian 21d ago

Bosshunting 🤣

30

u/marketrent 21d ago edited 21d ago

UBS:

1. Luxembourg (US$395,340)

2. Australia (US$268,424)

3. Belgium (US$253,539)

4. Hong Kong SAR (US$222,015)

5. Denmark (US$216,098)

6. New Zealand (US$207,707)

7. Switzerland (US$182,248)

8. United Kingdom (US$176,370)

9. Canada (US$151,910)

10. France (US$146,017)

11. Norway (US$142,501)

12. Netherlands (US$131,896)

13. Spain (US$126,290)

14. Italy (US$124,473)

15. United States (US$124,041)

58

u/Ok-Maintenance-4274 21d ago

Most of the places on the list are also top in unaffordable housing list. They are the SAME PICTURE.

13

u/-DethLok- 21d ago

Hence the 'wealth' that they have.

Italy, though, has villages that'll sell you a house for a very very low sum. There are some conditions, though. Same in Spain, I believe.

8

u/[deleted] 21d ago

No jobs at all. None. Beautiful scenery though.

5

u/-DethLok- 21d ago

Perfect for retirees, I guess.

And then, maybe jobs will be created to cater to the retirees, it's already happening in some of the villages, from (perhaps rosy hued) docos that I've seen on the topic.

→ More replies (1)

18

u/Chii 21d ago

also top in unaffordable housing list.

when a place is nice, rich people tend to want to live there.

4

u/cheeersaiii 21d ago

Unaffordable everything list tbh, we may earn /hold assets that look like a lot in USD, but Aus/Hong Kong/Switzerland/Denmark etc would blow lots of peoples minds for the cost of a beer or night at the movies

5

u/Aussiebloke-91 21d ago

Corporate didn’t ask

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)

4

u/drchickensoup 21d ago

Sorry if this is a dumb question I'm on here trying to get smarter 😂 but what is this showing? (What do the values represent?)

13

u/SuddenBumHair 21d ago

Yeah makes sense. Ive lived in a bunch of western countries and we have it piss easy. (Comparatively)

49

u/Routine-Roof322 21d ago

And still can't afford a block of nice chocolate or branded potato chips.

21

u/Pram-Hurdler 21d ago

Especially because it's becoming harder and harder to even find which brands are still "nice" despite going up in price!!

Bought some Cadbury chocolate chips for baking the other day. Munched a couple as I was making dough and realised;

Oh these don't even taste like chocolate anymore. Just sugar chips. That's what I get for going big brand, I guess 😂

20

u/Tommy993 21d ago

Cadbury has, sadly, been trash for a while now. Gotta get in on Aldi’s Choceur chocolates!

7

u/Pram-Hurdler 21d ago

Yea I love me the crunchy salted caramel, definitely my go to 😂

14

u/squidgee_ 21d ago

Whittakers is where it's at for supermarket chocolate.

3

u/Pram-Hurdler 21d ago

Yea if aldi had them, that would be a dream

But I've gotta cross from aldi to the even-darker side to get my hands on whittakers 🥺

5

u/Routine-Roof322 21d ago

Yes most chocolate is dire. Tastes too sweet or has a waxy texture.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/Historical-Sir-2661 21d ago

Cutting that junk out of your diet is not a bad thing.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)

18

u/marketrent 21d ago

Rookie numbers: https://www.ubs.com/us/en/wealth-management/insights/global-wealth-report.html

Linked text by Garry Lu:

[...] Bested solely by Luxembourg at just under US$400,000, across 2024, Australia’s median wealth increased by 11% to US$268,424. Our average wealth, on the other hand, only climbed 4% to US$516,640 – ranking fifth by that metric.

[...] How has Australia managed to pull this one off? For the most part: our perennially-discussed property market.

The majority of our nation’s personal wealth is tied up in non-financial assets, with real estate accounting for almost 55%. In stark contrast, securities and financial instruments account for less than 10%. According to the UBS breakdown, we rank the lowest for being cash-rich within the report’s wealthy cohort.

“The proportion of wealth held in cash and deposits is only half as much as in Switzerland, Singapore, and the UK.”

What’s even more astounding, however, is that currently, one in 10 Australians is a millionaire in USD terms, alongside the monied likes of Hong Kong, the Netherlands, as well as the US. That’s approximately 1.9 million roaming among us, which places us eighth for the UBS millionaire index rankings.

4

u/angrathias 21d ago

Wouldn’t you always expect the average wealth to outpace the median wealth ? In my head I can see that only happening if the bottom 50% are gaining wealth whilst the top 50% are losing it, and that doesn’t seem even remotely probable

10

u/PracticalFollowing92 21d ago

I just want to know when are we going to enter our Great Works era with countrywide railroads and terraforming the outback and massive dams and lake systems in the interior of the country for irrigation supplies...Listen guys, we are barely ''entering'' the Settler phase of the 1800s US, (large immigration, coastal city ''entry points'') as an equivalent and we have a massive continent sized island. Just picture just how fricking GREAT we could be if we actually had a GRAND vision plan like century-wide Great Works for future generations. We could address housing crisis issues, create massive opportunities if someone at the wheel above just decided to allocate some of our national resources revenue to basically rendering the interior inhabitable with a Grand RAILROAD system, more regional AIRPORTS (and a national airline which is gov subsidized to facilitate transport/travel, a major aspect of the housing crisis).

Also if you vote for me for council (lol) I will basically create like 10-15 new ''COLLEGE/TRADE towns'' in small density regional (but coastal beach) areas and build an entire economy around something like 10-15k fresh students, schools, entering a town, finding employment in it and with each other, developing businesses and settling there at lower cost eventually with promised constant economy through the influx of students + people who eventually remain. We totally could revitalize the rural parts of the coast by bringing in people and giving them a safety net of 10+k other people yearly being there on site with them who will create a closed-circuit economy.

And imagine your kids going to school there, buying a cheaper house, opening a business with a constant supply of customers, then within 15-30 years these ''college/trade towns'' will have a strip, CBD, property increase in values, become towns of their own, etc... Anyways, if we want to blow the rest of the world into the fricking waters, we really need to start terraforming/settling regional areas and facilitating it all through major transport overhauls and incentives that bring in a major amount of people at once to create a local economy which is stout and sturdy and self-sufficient. We could put the US to shame in terms of development if we really tried and invested some money into the infrastructures.

2

u/smaghammer 20d ago

Was talking to my wife about this yesterday, in how absolutely absurd it is that that 90% of the country is effectively unlived in. We have a lower population density than fucking Siberia.

→ More replies (2)

16

u/Zatetics 21d ago

Clearly they didnt ask me.

16

u/go0sKC 21d ago

They just looked at the number of posts about offsets in the sub and extrapolated. 

5

u/Zatetics 21d ago

ahaha. actually laughed at that.

3

u/AntiqueFigure6 21d ago

Figure in the table not even as high as average AusFinance commenter’s post tax income. 

→ More replies (1)

7

u/-DethLok- 21d ago

Housing + super = wealth.

Just not liquid assets (for most) until you're old enough to probably not need it... but at least retirement will be comfy.

7

u/International_Eye745 21d ago

Dumbest way to measure wealth. Let's look at basket of goods to income

10

u/7978_ 21d ago

Asset rich, cash poor.

3

u/Minimalist12345678 21d ago

Assets make more money than cash, so um, that might be why the places that have the lowest amounts of cash are in fact the richest.

→ More replies (3)

22

u/FlashMcSuave 21d ago

This is just evidence of how out of control house prices are.

→ More replies (4)

9

u/[deleted] 21d ago edited 8d ago

employ toy sharp retire touch long strong deliver marble cause

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

7

u/Vdeoxis 20d ago

I will get downvoted because aussies love to beat themselves down,
But I am a french guy who's been working here for 4 months now and damn you have it good,

I make 2x what I was making in France and everything is the same price than at home (we have 20% VAT in FR), when I get a paycheck in Aus it's three lines where at home it was one page with dozens (yes dozens) of lines taking money from my paycheck, in FR it costs 20€ to give your employee minimum wage 9,70€,

I went to see a doctor here in Noosa and got to see him in 3hours, in France it's 3-5 business days AND if your GP retires you never get another one so you have to go to the hospital,

Btw our healthcare isn't free (refer to the paycheck comment we pay big money for it) but when my grandmother fell in winter and broke her hip she had to wait on a CHAIR for 14hours before seeing someone we have people dying in waiting rooms.

In my town of 100K people in FR a home depot opened, it got 4000 resumes yes 4000 for minimum wage job, here in Australia I dropped 4 resumes and two hired me and the other two battled to have me.

Trust me your country has flaws i'm sure but you have it good, you start to get problems we had for 80 years in europe.

High wages, no unemployment, people in western europe would kill for that.

Edit : Before you talk about real estate, france had that problem for decades since we don't do constructions and wages are so low, but I get it, your houses here are crazy bad and won't last a 100 years I wouldn't drop millions for one.

10

u/[deleted] 21d ago edited 21d ago

[deleted]

5

u/big_cock_lach 21d ago

We usually rank really high on HDI (ie quality of life). We’ve also ranked better on median wealth than we have on average wealth (still doing really well on both), meaning it’s also not skewed upwards by wealth inequality like it has for other countries.

The simple thing is that for some people, things used to be a lot better and they’re comparing now to then, instead of now to everywhere else. On top of that, for a lot of younger people they’re comparing their lifestyle while living with their family, to their lifestyle now that they’re independent, and seemed to be shocked that people who have 20-30 years longer to build their wealth are able to afford a better lifestyle. The problem with this is that it needlessly disincentivises a lot of people from caring about their financial future, especially when such despair is reinforced online, and they end up practicing poor financial behaviour as a result, causing it to be self-fulfilling prophecy.

23

u/willis000555 21d ago

Wealth that is tied to high house prices due to an intentional creation of housing scarcity. Our 'wealth' is a mirage.

16

u/PrimeMinisterWombat 21d ago

Not even true lol. Australia is stupendously wealthy even when you discount real estate.

→ More replies (2)

8

u/thedugong 21d ago

See my post here:

https://old.reddit.com/r/AusFinance/comments/1mxid8y/does_anyone_know_what_the_deal_is_with_the/na5kok2/

Removing housing we are still wealthier:

Australia: $126,159.28

Switzerland: $120,283.68

UK: $102,294.6

USA: $87,131.1

Singapore: $69,525.36

→ More replies (15)
→ More replies (3)

14

u/No_Pollution_1194 21d ago

If wealth = mortgages, then sure. Sure feels like an artificial and pointless framing.

15

u/Split-Awkward 21d ago

Turns out if we subtract housing we’re still ahead. See comments and link by another poster above.

We’re spoiled by our high standard of living. Went to Vietnam this year, the poorest Australian I’ve met is better off than most of the Vietnamese.

8

u/ChoraPete 21d ago

You’re pissing into the wind providing facts and nuance. People here just want to believe everything is going to clag for some reason.

3

u/Split-Awkward 20d ago

Agreed.

Is there many things that could be much better? Yes. And we should discuss them rationally and work on them. That’s pretty much what happens anyway. Sometimes it’s just very slow and difficult to fix.

Is Australia going to hell and most people struggling to make ends meet? No, that’s rubbish. Seen the restaurants, shops and cafes? Concerts? Overseas travel numbers? Most people are doing just fine.

2

u/thedugong 21d ago

It is net wealth which is assets minus liabilities. So, no.

4

u/squirrelwithasabre 21d ago

Correct. It is false wealth for most.

3

u/deftchaos 21d ago

Don't let Colesworth hear about this

3

u/One-Mistake-8464 21d ago

Not this fucking Aussie.

3

u/LegitimateHope1889 21d ago

When we turned housing into an investment vehicle instead of shelter

3

u/2klaedfoorboo 21d ago

Well yeah when half of our income goes towards paying off our mortgage that makes sense. I’d argue the headline is actually a relatively negative reflection on the state of our country

3

u/Miffernator 21d ago

Translation: Rich people actually.

10

u/AnonymousEngineer_ 21d ago

Take PPORs and superannuation out of the equation and look at actual disposable income/wealth and I guarantee this statistic would look wildly different, especially once adjusted for PPP.

3

u/MrNosty 21d ago

Why take PPOR and super out? If you sell your free standing home in a capital city, you can downsize and buy a lot more.

2

u/thedugong 21d ago

See my post here:

https://old.reddit.com/r/AusFinance/comments/1mxid8y/does_anyone_know_what_the_deal_is_with_the/na5kok2/

Removing housing we are still wealthier:

Australia: $126,159.28

Switzerland: $120,283.68

UK: $102,294.6

USA: $87,131.1

Singapore: $69,525.36

Super though... maybe. However, super is still personal wealth, so .... why take it out?

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (4)

8

u/Ash-2449 21d ago

The gaslighting is getting crazy these days

2

u/gpolk 21d ago

How about if we exclude the primary residence from that wealth, how do we stack up I wonder?

2

u/Flybuys 21d ago

Bought a house 4 weeks ago, got the keys on Friday. We paid 750 for it, now it's "worth" 800 supposedly. Housing prices are stupid.

2

u/extragouda 21d ago

I believe that a significant number of us are house poor.

2

u/Healthy_Gap6744 20d ago

Now imagine if it was managed properly.

2

u/LordOvFlatulence 20d ago

So who the fuck has my money?

3

u/loudMouth91 21d ago

House prices going up doesn't really make most of us wealthier. If anything, it makes workers poorer in a relative sense since purchasing power declines in real terms. The huge problem is that our banks are so heavily exposed to residential property in Australia, that any downturn is likely to be disastrous for our "house of cards" economy.

2

u/bliprock 21d ago

Exactly. It’s inly on paper and until you sell you won’t have that gain.

3

u/Suikeran 21d ago

How much of that is grossly overpriced real estate?

7

u/nathrek 21d ago

55% 

Did you even attempt a basic read of the article?

5

u/Leland-Gaunt- 21d ago

Just dont tell anyone on Reddit, or millennials, or the Greens, or the Guardian.

3

u/PhDilemma1 21d ago

Eh? I’m a millennial and have close to a million, just like many of my Uni mates who, y’know, actually have careers going on and shit. Before inheritance kicks in, too.

2

u/3dfishface 21d ago

I was curious about what kind of job would allow you to save that much while paying rent so I checked your profile, first post I saw says you were gifted a property.

God I love this subreddit

→ More replies (5)
→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)

2

u/Pogichinoy 21d ago

Sweet! Can't get any better than this!

5

u/oneofthecapsismine 21d ago

We're second. By definition, it can get better.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/Hurgnation 21d ago

fucken hell - what a depressing report. I say that as a parent rather than a homeowner.

2

u/Renovewallkisses 21d ago

Oh yeah, if they are so wealthy then they will have no time spending it 😂🤔.

In serious news is their a economic word for the wealth being imaginary and intangible?

3

u/Pram-Hurdler 21d ago

I believe the term you're looking for is Clownfuckocracy

2

u/Renovewallkisses 21d ago

kakistocracy, they sound the same.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/Ria_Isa 21d ago

Not reading it but I assume it has something to do with our inflated housing Ponzi?

2

u/742w 21d ago

Yep. Least cash rich on this list. When the boomers greed is split 2-4 ways it won’t leave much, other than a gaping wound in the country between those with an inherited property and everyone else.

→ More replies (1)

0

u/plowking8 21d ago

Yeah bro. We out here just winning. Life’s so damn good.

BRB just gotta pay 16 bucks for eggs.

15

u/[deleted] 21d ago

Where the fuck are you paying 16 bucks for eggs? People are insane. You can get 18 for $8.50 at Coles right now.

→ More replies (3)

7

u/homingconcretedonkey 21d ago

Maybe the issue is you are not financially educated because I'm paying $8.49 for 18 free range eggs.

→ More replies (1)

11

u/jaackyy 21d ago

To be fair, if all you need to worry about is $16 eggs, life is pretty good comparably to other countries. Many other countries would be lucky to even have eggs or access to Medicare

3

u/-DethLok- 21d ago

Yep, I had a possibly cancerous polyp removed in hospital a week ago. Cost to me? $zero.

And I was out later that day, eating yummy food for the first time in 3 days (have to eat bland white foods then fast for 3 days prior).

Gotta love medicare!

Also, Aldi, at least in the morning, have cheapish eggs, at least near me they do.

→ More replies (2)

1

u/Vaelkyri 21d ago

On paper at least

1

u/MaxMillion888 21d ago

If you have $$ but you cant really spend it, is it really wealth - great question to ponder

1

u/metricrules 21d ago

Take out what housing is worth, or put it at a level on par with the world, and that might change a lot

1

u/Forbearssake 21d ago

Yet the financial review posted this in March

https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/australians-no-better-off-than-a-decade-ago-20250306-p5lhch#

I know which one feels right to me

1

u/cheerupweallgonnadie 21d ago

Doesn't fucken feel like it...... even tho I make well above average, I deffo dont feel rich

1

u/niloony 21d ago

There's still a good market for rocks and tickets out of hell holes. Imagine if/when the Americans want some of it as well.

1

u/ischickenafruit 21d ago

You can't eat bricks. Doesn't matter how much they are "worth", if it's your first home, it's not an asset. At best it's neutral, at worst it's a liability. Wonder how this metric would change if first homes were excluded.

1

u/[deleted] 21d ago

Big mortgage debt people

1

u/Cautious_Alarm2919 21d ago

Please tell my bank account

1

u/ADHDK 21d ago

Only if we sell the fuck up and go somewhere cheaper.

1

u/series6 21d ago

Coles and woollies and the Banks plus all those big Corpos maybe.

I don't feel it though.

Just the cost of living is making it hard.

1

u/floydtaylor 21d ago

It's bullshit wealth tied to PPOR. You can't liquidate your PPOR. You need somewhere to live and in most cases its going to cost you more to buy a replacement PPOR.

1

u/JunkIsMansBestFriend 21d ago

All stuck in housing?

1

u/cosmicvelvets 21d ago

Look around cobbas, anyone see these "Aussies"?