The Observatory of inequalities released on Tuesday a report that looks at the 5.1 million wealthy people in the country.
"In France, the rich are as numerous as the poor (8% of the population lives on less than 867 euros) ", is surprised the Observatory of inequalities in a report.
According to the organization, the country has just over 5 million people living above the wealth threshold. "The France of the privileged is doing well," say analysts, who wanted for the first time to make wealth an object of statistical study. But how much can we say is rich? By following the report, you must receive (a single person) 3,470 euros of income per month, after paying taxes. This "wealth threshold" is equivalent to twice the median income of 1,735 euros, still per adult.
"On average, people between the richest 10% and the 1% have a standard of living equivalent to 5,000 euros per month before taxes. The richest 1% receives almost 15,000 euros on average," can we read in the study.
Who are these wealthy people? They are often older people than the general population. Two thirds of high income (the richest 10%) and 70% of high wealth (the wealthiest 10%) are over 50 years old. When they are salaried, the richest people are 51% of senior managers, while this socio-professional category represents only 11% of the 90% of the rest of employees. To this must be added the best paid self-employed workers found among lawyers, doctors, pharmacists, financial advisers, real estate agents, etc.
The rich live better in France
And contrary to what many might think, apart from Switzerland, France is the country where the 1% has the highest standard of living, according to the report.
One in three people live in the Paris region and one in ten lives in the capital, while only 16% of the poorest 90% live in Île-de-France and 3% in Paris. Certain districts in the west of Paris and several communes of Hauts-de-Seine, Neuilly-sur-Seine at the head, concentrate the highest incomes of France. In the capital as in the provinces (Annecy for example), the big bourgeoisie reserves privileged territories.
The ultra-rich have incomes that exceed one million euros a month. In this closed group are a handful of "big bosses" and football stars.
The concept of wealth can also be defined according to the level of wealth (real estate, bank deposits, financial assets, etc.). There are thus "23% of households that hold at least twice the median gross wealth, that is to say more than 320,000 euros, and 16% of households own at least three times that, more than 490,000 euros ".
For the statistical institute, INSEE, the number of "affluent" people (who perceive at least 1.8 times the median standard of living) rose from 6.7 million in 1996 to 6.8 million in 2014.
The gap is widening between rich and poor
The report shows that in 20 years, the rich have moved away from the middle classes. The difference between the median standard of living of the population and the average standard of living of the richest 10% was 27,800 euros annually in 1996. And in 2017 it increased to 36,300 euros. "The number of ISF taxpayers multiplied by 2.8 between 1999 and 2010. Between 2011 and 2017, the progression was slower, but by 22% in five years", shows the Observatory of inequalities. For the latter, "the rich are enriched".
Information to be noted: Bernard Arnault, the boss of LVMH, holds "a fortune equivalent to the value of all the housing in Toulouse". This leaves you to think …