7.4% of the French population is rich. This is the figure – in decline – put forward by the Observatory of Inequalities in its latest report published on June 5. The independent private organization has established a wealth threshold. It corresponds to twice the median income in France defined by INSEE (50% of the population earns more, the other half earns less).
Concretely, a person is rich if they live on more than 3,900 euros per month after paying taxes and receiving social benefits.But then who are the rich in France? If you are a man, senior executive, over 50, you tick all the boxes to be part of the 4.7 million people above the wealth threshold.
A very masculine world of the rich
Men are twice as numerous as women among the 10% of highest paid employees. The higher we climb the salary scale, the greater the wage inequalities between men and women. There are 3.4 times more men than women among the 1% of highest paid employees.
“Women continue to suffer from the famous “glass ceiling”, this invisible social limit which slows down their access to the highest-responsibility and best-paid positions,” details the Observatory in its report.
The older we get, the richer we are
Age also comes into play in wealth inequalities in France. The wealth rate rises to 15% among 60-64 year olds compared to 5% among 30-34 year olds.
“The share of rich people in the population increases with age,” summarizes the report. With seniority, the salary level increases over the course of the career. The portion of income set aside, from year to year, makes it possible to acquire assets (real estate, shares, etc.), which generates new income.
Wealth inequalities among the self-employed
Senior executives in the private or public sector are at the top of the richest employees. A quarter have an income level above the wealth threshold, compared to 1% of workers.
What happens next is less expected: the self-employed, who bring together farmers, craftsmen, traders and business leaders, take over from executives in the richest professions. Between 12% and 14% of them exceed the wealth threshold defined by the Observatory of Inequalities, which specifies, however, that within this category, enormous disparities exist.
Income and wealth go hand in hand
Heritage is also taken into account by the Observatory of Inequalities to measure wealth. Households that hold assets greater than 531,000 euros, or three times the median assets held by the French, are considered rich.
“In reality, income and wealth always go almost together, those rich in income are very often rich in wealth,” explains Louis Maurin, director of the Observatory of Inequalities. Among the 10% of households with the highest incomes, many have significant assets.
The rich are concentrated in certain regions
Another aspect that makes up the identity card of the rich: their place of life. Paris ranks at the top of the departments where the richest people have taken up residence. The capital is followed by its western suburbs, notably Hauts-de-Seine. Next come departments close to Switzerland, Haute-Savoie and Ain.
The village of Veyrier-du-Lac (Haute-Savoie), on the shores of Lake Annecy, ranks at the top of the towns with less than 20,000 inhabitants where the monthly standard of living is the highest. In this municipality, the richest 10% live on at least 10,000 euros per month.
In its report, the Observatory of Inequalities counts fewer rich people than before. According to its criteria, the proportion of rich people increased from 5.5 million to 4.7 million between 2011 and 2021. But the wealth of this part of the population is increasing, driven by the increase in that of the richest 1%.
Remember that no public body has defined a wealth threshold. The definition proposed by the Observatory of Inequalities is the only one that exists today in France.
