Italian households lag behind Europe in wealth growth as inequality reaches record levels
Italian families have built more wealth over the past decade than at any point in recent memory, but the pace has left them trailing far behind their European neighbors. A report released by the Osservatorio della Fondazione Fiba di First Cisl paints a stark picture: Italy recorded the slowest wealth growth in the eurozone between 2015 and 2025, with a cumulative increase of just 22.8% against a eurozone average of 60%.
The gap with the bloc's largest economy is even more striking. German households saw their net wealth climb 87.3% over the same period, while Spain rose 56.6% and France 42%. Italy's share of total eurozone household wealth has slipped from 21.7% in 2015 to 16.5% at the end of last year.
A decade of two speeds
The report reveals a dramatic acceleration in Italian wealth accumulation that did not kick in until the pandemic years. Only 277.4 billion euros were added between 2015 and 2020, but the following five years brought an additional 1,829.6 billion euros — more than six times the previous period's growth.
Net household wealth reached 11,333 billion euros at 31 December 2025, with preliminary data for March 2026 showing a slight adjustment to 11,294.7 billion euros.
A primary driver of this disparity, according to the Osservatorio Fiba, is Italy's persistently low savings rate. Italian households saved just 10.7% of their gross income in 2025, compared with Germany at 19.2%, France at 17.2% and the eurozone average of 14.32%. The roots of this lie in disposable income growth that has consistently lagged behind European peers: Italian household gross disposable income rose 28.4% between 2015 and 2025, while Germany gained 48.3%, France 41.1% and Spain 53.8%.
Wealth concentrates at the top
The distribution of what wealth has been created is uneven. The wealthiest 5% of Italian families now hold more than 50% of total net wealth, a figure that has jumped from 39.9% in 2010 to 50.2% in 2025. Meanwhile, the bottom half of the population owns just 7.3%.
Half of that wealth increase — roughly 937 billion euros — came from unquoted shares and other equity holdings, which grew 102.7% over the decade. The report notes that 98.3% of these financial assets are owned by the top decile of families. The concentration extends across financial instruments: the wealthiest 10% hold 93.3% of listed shares, 82.5% of mutual fund units, and 76.9% of life insurance products.
Property and consumption patterns
Real estate retains its traditional weight in Italian portfolios, accounting for 46% of gross household wealth. However, Italian house price growth of 16.1% between 2015 and 2025 fell well below the eurozone average of 53.7%, limiting the wealth effect that property appreciation has delivered elsewhere in Europe.
For the average household, much of this translates to limited onward motion. With roughly 1,500 billion euros sitting in bank deposits — a defensive position that has eroded purchasing power during the high-inflation years of 2022–2024 — Italian families have favored liquidity and capital-guaranteed instruments like BTP bonds over equity exposure.
What this means for residents
The practical impact falls on those outside the asset-owning elite. Weak income growth, compounded by regressive elements in Italy's tax system where capital income is taxed more favorably than wages, has made it harder for middle and lower-income families to accumulate wealth through savings. The average Italian household now holds 452,300 euros in net wealth, a figure that masks vast disparities within the population.
As the wealth divide widens, the prospect of home ownership, retirement security, and financial resilience becomes increasingly split between those with inherited or accumulated assets and those whose income covers only current consumption.
