McKinsey Global Institute’s new research proposes a new way of looking at the world’s wealth: the balance sheet. On that view, a notable finding is that, after tripling in value from 2000 to 2020, residential real estate amounted to nearly half of global net worth in 2020; corporate and government buildings and land accounted for about another quarter. Infrastructure, industrial structures, machinery and equipment, intangibles, and mineral reserves—the assets that typically drive economic growth—made up only one-fifth of real assets.
To read the article, see “The rise and rise of the global balance sheet: How productively are we using our wealth?,” November 15, 2021.