The Paper Wealth Mirage: A $40 Trillion Question Mark The McKinsey Global Institute report reveals a stark picture of global household wealth in 2025: a staggering $40 trillion added, pushing total net worth to an unprecedented $570 trillion.
This growth, however, is largely paper based and not driven by genuine economic expansion. Household wealth per capita has increased in most countries, with the U. S. and Australia leading the pack.
But only 20% of new household wealth came from real capital formation – actual investment in productive assets. The remaining $32 trillion can be attributed to rising equity multiples and debt accumulation.