McKinsey report reveals wealth growth outpaces real economy in 2025

The world got $100 trillion richer last year. The problem is that most of that wealth wasn’t built, it was inflated. The McKinsey Global Institute’s latest report, “The global balance sheet 2026: Imbalance and divergence,” puts the global balance sheet at approximately $1.8 quadrillion in 2025. Household net worth alone reached $570 trillion, climbing $40 trillion in a single year for a 7.3% annual gain that comfortably outpaced the 5.9% long-term average dating back to 2000. The catch: roughly 20% of that wealth increase came from real capital formation, meaning new factories, infrastructure, productive investment. The remaining bulk, about 58%, came from valuation gains on assets that already existed. Stocks going up. Property prices ticking higher. Paper wealth accumulating without a corresponding expansion in what the economy actually produces. Equities did the heavy lifting Stock markets were the single biggest driver of household wealth creation in 2025, accounting for 57% of the increase. Real estate, long the dominant wealth-building asset for most families globally, contributed just 15%. The US was the standout. American equities reached 3.7 times the country’s GDP and 2.4...