- Kenyans would need to work 13 years and 5 months to meet the top 1%’s required wealth – the quickest out of all the assessed countries
- At the other end of the scale, average Chinese workers would be required to work for 101 years and 3 months to meet the country’s 1% wealth bracket.
Reports reveal that the world’s richest 1% own a significant proportion (43.4%) of the overall global wealth*. But exactly how long would an average employee need to work to match the wealth of the elite?
Personal finance experts at money.co.uk analysed the latest data from the Knight Frank wealth report in order to identify the required financial value a person would need to have to be in the top 1% of their country’s top earners. Using this, they can now reveal how long it would take to work to reach the richest 1% in each country.
Workers that would reach the required wealth quickest
Money.co.uk can reveal that in Romania it would take working individuals 27 years and 7 months to reach the required wealth of $300,000 – the fourth quickest in the world.
|
Country |
Required wealth to be considered in top 1% per country (USD) |
Adjusted net national income per capita** (USD) |
Estimated number of working years and months to reach the required wealth |
|
Kenya |
$20,000 |
$1,492 |
13 years and 5 months |
|
Philippines |
$60,000 |
$3,472 |
17 years and 3 months |
|
Indonesia |
$60,000 |
$3,280 |
18 years and 4 months |
|
Romania |
$300,000 |
$10,874 |
27 years and 7 months |
|
India |
$60,000 |
$1,822 |
32 years and 11 months |
|
United Arab Emirates |
$1,300,000 |
$39,306 |
33 years and 1 month |
|
Brazil |
$280,000 |
$7,629 |
36 years and 8 months |
|
South Africa |
$180,000 |
$4,862 |
37 years |
|
Nigeria |
$70,000 |
$1,779 |
39 years and 4 months |
|
Argentina |
$360,000 |
$8,161 |
44 years and 1 month |
The country where it would take the least amount of time to become part of the 1% is Kenya. It would take citizens with a net income salary of $1,492 an estimated 13 years and 5 months to meet the required wealth of $20,000.
Second on the list is the Philippines. It would take working Filipinos 17 years and 3 months to reach the top 1% required wealth of $60,000, based on an average net national income of $3,472.
With a net national income of $3,280 in Indonesia, it would take the next 18 years and 4 months to enable Indonesian citizens to enter the richest top 1%.
Rounding off the top five is India. To match the wealth of the elite at $60,000, individuals would need to work for 32 years and 11 months.
The countries where it would take the longest to reach the required wealth
|
Country |
Required wealth to be considered in top 1% per country (USD) |
Adjusted net national income per capita** (USD) |
Estimated number of working years and months to reach the required wealth |
|
China |
$850,000 |
$8,394 |
101 years and 3 months |
|
New Zealand |
$2,800,000 |
$34,345 |
81 years and 6 months |
|
United States |
$4,400,000 |
$55,419 |
79 years and 5 months |
|
Switzerland |
$5,100,000 |
$65,600 |
77 years and 9 months |
|
Vietnam |
$160,000 |
$2,163 |
73 years and 12 months |
Comparably, in New Zealand it would take the average worker earning $34,345 a year an estimated 81 years and 6 months to reach the top 1% required wealth of $2.8 million.
This is followed by the United States, which would take working Americans 79 years and 5 months to reach the required wealth of $4.4 million based on a net income of $55,419 a year.
Salman Haqqi, personal finance expert at money.co.uk, provided tips on how to best manage your money sensibly:
“Trying to save all your salary would be highly restricting – taking control and managing your money is important to reach your goals efficiently.
Keep these points in mind to guide you with your financial targets:
- Map out realistic targets – By tailoring targets to your personal financial goals, this allows you to assess your current finances better and enables you to track progress as you work towards set financial goals.
- Track your spending – Despite setting up a monthly budget, there are many occasions where money slips away – not knowing where it’s been spent can be frustrating. Keeping track of spendings can help to analyse monthly targets and identify where you can cut down on spending.
- Be mindful of your purchases – Whether it’s a short or long term target, monitoring where and what you purchase is beneficial. Questioning purchases can initiate better budgeting.”
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