How much wealth do you need to be part of Switzerland's 1 percent?

Though Switzerland is known as a land of wealth, high prices and high salaries, just how wealthy are the country’s top 1 percent? Here’s what you need to know:

Switzerland home to nearly 400.000 millionaires

According to the latest data from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), 398.681 individuals living in Switzerland have assets worth a total of 1 million francs or more - a population the size of Geneva and Basel combined. Alongside this large population of millionaires, approximately 2.500 residents sport assets of 50 million francs or more, and an estimated 152 billionaires also call the country home.

SRF and Bilanz, the media outlets that compiled the data, noted that what it means to be "rich in Switzerland" varies by who you ask: as far as Swiss banks are concerned, for instance, someone with a net worth of over 1 million francs is considered wealthy. This is in contrast to the FSO, which in a recent report revealed that you have to have a salary or income of at least 8.842 francs a month to be considered a high earner.

How much money do you need to be part of the 1 percent?

As it stands, you have to have assets of at least 8,5 million francs to be part of the 1 percent in Switzerland, the FSO revealed. Just 40.000 people make up the top 1 percent of earners. 

Income inequality in Switzerland remains stark, with the richest 1 percent owning approximately 54 percent of the country’s wealth. By contrast, the bottom 62 percent of earners (wealth of 100.000 Swiss francs or less) own just 3 percent of the nation’s assets. The top 1 percent have an average wealth of 20 million francs each, while the bottom 22 percent have no wealth at all.

Wealth inequality is rife in Switzerland, says economist

"Wealth is very unequally distributed in Switzerland compared to other countries," economist Isabel Martinez told SRF. This inequality has led some to call for the expansion of taxation and inheritance policies to try and balance out the country's wealth.

In the most high-profile case, the “Initiative for the Future” referendum from the Young Socialists (JUSO), which will be voted on at some point, calls for a 50 percent inheritance tax on all those whose wealth exceeds 50 million francs. Estimates from the University of Lausanne predict such a policy would add between 2,5 and 5 billion francs a year to federal, cantonal and local budgets.

Addressing wealth imbalances a double-edged sword

However, the JUSO initiative has been sharply criticised by lawmakers and the super-rich. On the one hand, the tax would target individuals who are both most likely and most able to either shield their wealth from taxation or leave the country entirely, depriving the state of income.

Others note that the richest individuals in Switzerland are already economically essential for the government and the economy. According to the FSO, the richest 10 percent of the population pays 86 percent of wealth taxes and 53 percent of income taxes in Switzerland, providing the state with 31,67 billion francs in funding in 2020. This means 45.600 people are responsible for over half of tax revenue.

In her view, Martinez argued that higher taxation on the wealthy is not a solution to inequality in itself. "A full state coffer doesn't necessarily mean that people in the country are better off…We need to discuss which tasks the state should take on. What will that cost and how do we finance it? And how do we want to share this financing burden?"