ECB: Greeks 22,5% Poorer Compared to 2009

Greek households experienced a significant 22.5% drop in their wealth in comparison to the pre-crisis levels in 2009 in the Eurozone, in contrast to the other members of the economic bloc who witnessed a 50% rise in wealth value, according to the European Central Bank’s (ECB) experimental data.

Greek household wealth was estimated just shy of €1 trillion (€968.6 billion) euros in the 3rd quarter of 2009, a figure that plummeted to €687.2 billion in the 2nd quarter of 2017, a whopping 29% decrease in 7 years.

A positive reversal was recorded after the end of the COVID pandemic lockdowns, which froze all construction activity till the 3rd quarter of 2020, as Greek households witnessed a substantial rise in wealth to €798.8 billion in the 2nd quarter of 2023, with property largely accounting for the wealth uptick.

The largest share (€473.2 billion) of the total wealth of Greeks is attributed to real estate, followed by deposits (€159.8 billion) and businesses (€110.5 billion). Small amounts originate from shares in companies listed on the Stock Exchange (€11.5 billion), investment funds (€ 11.4 billion), and debt securities (€6 billion).

In terms of wealth disparity, the data indicates that the wealthiest 5% of Greek households currently hold 33.6% of the total wealth, a slight increase compared to 2009 (32.9%).

Conversely, the poorest 50% of households possess 10.9%, also recording a small rise compared to 2009 (10.8%).

In the entire Εurozone, however, inequalities are significantly greater, as the richest 5% now possess 43% of the total wealth, while the poorest 50% hold only 5.3%.