Researchers have created the world’s first comprehensive database tracking wealth accumulation from 1800 to 2025, revealing that global wealth has grown much faster than income since 1980 and challenging long-held economic assumptions, according to the World Inequality Database press-release. The study by nine economists shows wealth-income ratios jumped from 390% of global output in 1980 to over 625% in 2025. This surge reflects higher savings and strong gains in housing and stock markets worldwide, contradicting the “Kaldor facts” that assumed wealth ratios stayed constant over time.
The database draws on national balance sheets and newly reconstructed historical data from both rich and developing countries. Previous research had focused mainly on Western economies, leaving gaps in understanding how wealth evolved globally. The comprehensive dataset covers wealth-income ratios, ownership structures, and capital shares across all world regions over more than two centuries.
Private wealth has reached record highs in all advanced regions while public wealth tells a different story. North America now has negative public wealth, Europe’s public assets have fallen near zero, but East Asia maintains 25-30% of national wealth in government hands. Capital’s share of income has increased worldwide and remains higher in emerging and poor countries than in rich nations.
The study reveals dramatic historical swings in global wealth patterns. Capital-output ratios rose from 400% in 1800 to 500% in 1910, crashed to 300% by 1950, then rebounded to today’s peak of 600-650%. Foreign ownership shifted from European control before 1914 to U.S. dominance through 1970, and now to East Asian and oil-rich states.
These changes appear driven more by ideology, politics, and institutions than pure economics – insights that matter for today’s climate transition challenges.
