[pcrh]

Those numbers are heavily influenced by the value of domestic property. Most Germans rent, for example.

Further, storing wealth in domestic property is a poor use of money.

Edit: If you look at countries by net financial wealth per adult, a quite different picture emerges.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_wealth_pe...

[cyphunk]

As someone living in Germany (#12 on that list), having lived in Israel (#9) many years and US (#1)... the wealth per capita doesn't compare to quality of life I experienced at all. I'm sure pairing quality of life with wealth is a no-go for most analysts but I do not see why not. In fact Israel and the US were environments that demanded a massive amount of effort just to stay out of debt and get by day to day. So the fact that these lists and metrics do not account for actual quality of life leaves suspicion for the general analytical modal as a whole.

The only competition which I can see per capita wealth lists equating to a national advantage is for general growth. There is reason to question what value growth brings to people day to day. My impression is that a society in decline demographically is forced to answer to something more than peoples purchasing power alone which might just make for a more livable society. Or put simply: a system that has to worry about more than just growth tends to be one concerning itself at least slightly more with peoples quality of living.

[adventured]

I disagree. The US is the world's most valuable real estate market overall; it's a massive market when it comes to home owners; and it's extremely liquid as far as real estate markets go, with not only a very large number of buyers and sellers but also a massive financial engine behind it (critical for buying and selling).

It's clearly a perfectly good use of money. It has assisted the US in acquiring a median net wealth as high as Germany, while having four times the population, a very challenging feat.

[pcrh]

The major part of the value of domestic (as opposed to commercial) property is that of the land on which it sits, this is a non-productive use of that land (i.e. the land per se doesn't produce anything, unlike in agriculture). The money in domestic real estate would be put to better use if it were instead invested in enterprises that produced goods or services.