How Rich Is Switzerland

you are watching places every Tuesday we bring you an insightful look into fascinating events from all around the world how rich is Switzerland welcome to a Lux calm the place where future billionaires come to get inspired hello Alexis and welcome to another original video presented by our team here at a luxe calm today we're exploring the wealth of another nation that is relatively small in size but powerful and influential on the world stage Switzerland is almost half the size of Scotland and has a population of about 8.5 million people it's known as one of the most luxurious countries in the world with a strong economy and a high number of millionaires and billionaires but just how rich is Switzerland today we're getting to the bottom of that question but first let's learn a little bit more about this European nation background Switzerland's official name is the Swiss Federation it is widely recognized as the home to a large portion of the Alps but most of its population lives in the Swiss plateau with large concentrations in the city of Zurich and Geneva this landlocked country is renowned for its permeating alkaline Lakes green valleys and gigantic mountains it's virginal cities are the center of this region's unique culture that blends both the old and the new there's so much more to Switzerland than its natural beauty the country is home to some of the biggest watch making companies such as Rolex LD mouth PGA and Notre Dame apart from the watches Switzerland is also renowned for its a wide variety of luxury products interestingly instant coffee originated in Switzerland after angriness lay started Nestle in 1867 which you can learn more about by watching our video the 15 things you didn't know about Nestle by clicking in the top right corner today the people of Zurich pay the highest average price for coffee in the world according to the world Coffee index well that hardly seems fair Switzerland has also managed to maintain its position as the prime trading partner for the European for decades a whopping 78% of imports headed for Switzerland come from the EU while 42% of Swiss exports are sent to EU nations it's a relationship that's gone a long way in defining the country's economic success but that's not where it all began how Switzerland became rich Switzerland was not always a rich country things took a turn for the better after the economic boom in the late 19th century after which it took the region about one century for its population to almost triple from three to eight million which also contributed to its economic growth however there were several factors at play during this period of transformation a devastating famine hit the country in 1816 which brought about increased unemployment the farmers began looking for other work which created a surplus of available labour this ended up benefiting the industrial sector with plenty of rivers to provide enough energy for industrial development Switzerland was able to withstand competition from England as well as Germany another factor that led to Switzerland's accumulation of wealth is the abolishment of intellectual property rights by the Swiss government in the mid to late nineteenth century this allowed Swiss companies to copy any developments made by foreign or local competitors finally a 1935 policy is responsible for shaping the Swiss banking sector into what it is today this legislation called for banking secrecy which provides safe shelter for wealthy individuals additionally income generated from foreign capital is only subject to a flat tax this has made the country a hotbed for foreign financial inflow but let's now go into more detail about how rich people benefit from Switzerland's policies why the rich are drawn to Switzerland with an estimated 2.5 trillion dollars held in Switzerland it's clear there's a huge number of wealthy people who prefer this region to other European states this is primarily due to its low taxes for foreign residents and for corporations which makes it a tax Haven for the wealthy such individuals have the option of paying taxes in a lump sum at very low rates in simple terms the Swiss government taxes foreigners based on how much they spend on their monthly rent foreigners are required to pay taxes worth five times their rent in order to fulfill their financial obligations rich couples also end up benefiting from this arrangement as taxes are based on households rather than individuals this form of taxation has seen the country attract a huge number of wealthy people this taxation system is also extended to foreign corporations as they are offered substantial tax breaks however this is limited to entities that hold at least 20% of other companies shares the amount of tax owed on profit is calculated in terms of the total number of shares owned by the business entity this explains why 30% of conglomerates in the fortune 500 have established operations in the region this country is also known for its ability to conceal its clients bank details it's also managed to maintain the number one position in the financial secrecy index in spite of changes forced upon the Swiss banking system by pressure from the EU and the United States government considering all of this information let's now take a look at the question at hand how rich is Switzerland in 2018 Switzerland had a per-capita GDP of eighty two thousand nine hundred and fifty dollars which was the second highest in the world next to Luxembourg its total GDP in 2018 was seven hundred and four billion dollars which has ranked 20th among the world's economies there's a popular misconception that all Swiss Nationals are wealthy although not factual this belief stems from the fact that Switzerland is home to 1.8 percent of the top 1% of the world's richest individuals this is in spite of its modest population which only makes up 0.1 percent of the global population on average each Swiss based adult is worth an estimated five hundred and thirty thousand two hundred and forty dollars as 2018 Australia comes in a distant second with an average of four hundred and eleven thousand dollars per adult while the u.s. comes in third with four hundred and three thousand nine hundred and seventy in dollars the overall household wealth in Switzerland has risen by one hundred and twenty nine percent in just two decades this is largely attributed to the study appreciation of the local currency against the dollar individuals worth one hundred thousand dollars or higher make up 60% of the country's population and 11 percent qualify as millionaires an estimated 980 people have assets amounting to 100 million dollars or higher and another two thousand seven hundred are categorized as ultra high-net-worth individuals with assets totaling at least 50 million dollars based on these facts it's clear there's an abundance of wealthy residents in Switzerland thus qualifying it as one of the wealthiest nations in the world but there's also another side to this story economic inequality on the flip side financial inequality is rampant in this country the number of people worth $10,000 or less outnumber the billionaires and millionaires combined the richest 20% generate revenues five times higher than those generated by the poorest 20% according to the country statistical office up to 57 point five percent of the country's population is classified as middle-class this goes to show that despite the abundance of wealth in the region there is a significant financial gap between the rich and the poor a lot more needs to be done to bridge this gap and further increase Switzerland's pool of wealth conclusion yes Switzerland is more than just a thing of natural beauty it's home to some of the wealthiest people in the world thanks to its highly competitive economy and tax haven status it's ranked as the richest landlocked nation in the world coming ahead of Austria Kazakhstan and the Czech Republic Switzerland has one of the most advanced free market economies in the world with a large sector represented by the Swiss banking in and tourism we can clearly conclude that from all the facts presented today Switzerland is a very wealthy nation and it's unlikely to lose its rich status anytime soon to dive deeper into the concept of tax havens and how they have shaped the world's economy check out the book Treasure Island tax havens and the men who stole the world this book looks at the complicated role tax havens play in various societies and how they have contributed to the highest levels of income inequality in history it's exclusively available on audible for $20 but save your money just go to a lakhs comm slash free book and sign up so you can get the audiobook version for free thanks to our partnership with audible now a lexer since we're wrapping up this topic we'd like to know what strategies do you think would be most effective in bridging the huge financial gap between the rich and poor that currently exists in Switzerland let us know in the comments section and of course for sticking with us until the end you get a bonus here it is does the name Bert or le ring a bell maybe not but the Swiss are very familiar the Bert or le siblings are the richest in Switzerland Ernesto Berto le is the richest man in the country with an estimated worth of eight point six billion dollars while his sister Donna Berto le is the fourth richest woman in Switzerland with an estimated net worth of 4.4 billion dollars both of them have a cured their funds through investments in the biotech industry and are the brains behind the famous Serrano brand thank you for spending some time with us a Luxor's make sure to subscribe so you never miss another video we also hand-picked these videos for you to watch next as always the conversation continues on social media thanks again and we can't wait to have you back tomorrow

Channel: Alux.com

Views: 90,792

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Id: 6BEoyM92XVI

Length: 10min 51sec (651 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 05 2019