#502
No Such Thing As Free Money
Published:
Aug 21, 2023
Author:
Sarah Parsons Wolter
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Money doesn’t usually grow on trees, but this Tuesday was an exception in Ireland, as an IT glitch at the Bank of Ireland allowed customers to withdraw as much as €1,000 over their existing balances.
This windfall may be coming at an opportune time, as according to the 2023 Global Wealth Report released by Credit Suisse and UBS, global wealth declined for the first time since the GFC - by $11.3t! Diverging from the typical storyline of the rich getting richer, wealthier regions were actually the hardest hit, with North America and Europe accounting for $10.9t of the total loss.
Wealth inequalities were reduced by both country and demographic, as global median wealth increased by 3%. In the US Caucasians were hardest hit, while African Americans were nearly unphased and Hispanics experienced close to 10% growth. Meanwhile, the share of wealth controlled by the top 1% globally fell to 44.5% and 3.5m individuals were knocked off the global list of millionaires.
As demonstrated by the Bank of Ireland – every little bit counts, no matter where you sit on the wealth spectrum. In Ireland the police (Gardai) were deployed to guard ATMs to physically stop people from withdrawing cash. Nonetheless, plenty of customers slipped through the cracks with reports of people going straight to the store to buy new TVs – or a bit less conspicuous – straight to the pub.
Portfolio News
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No Such Thing As Free Money
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