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Trends in wealth inequality by asset type

Wealth inequalityInequalityTrends

This graph shows the contribution of each asset class to overall wealth inequality, and how this changed over time. The sum of these contributions is the Gini coefficient for each year, which rose from 0.57 in 2003-04 to 0.62 in 2017-18.

It also shows the contribution of different components of household wealth (asset classes) to overall wealth inequality. The three asset classes making the greatest contributions to wealth inequality at the end of the period in 2015-16 (when the Gini coefficient was 0.62) were owner-occupied housing (contributing 0.22, reflecting its high overall weight among household assets), shares and business income (contributing 0.15, reflecting its high concentration in high-wealth households), and superannuation (contributing 0.12, reflecting its high overall weight among household assets).

The main contributors to growth in wealth inequality from 2003-04 to 2017-18 were superannuation (whose contribution to the Gini coefficient for wealth rose by 0.04) and investment property (whose contribution rose by 0.01). This reflects relatively strong growth in the overall value of those assets, together with their heavy concentration among wealthier households.

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