It is enough to look at the list of the greatest fortunes in Spain in the last two years to realize that not only have their assets grown, but that even among the wealthiest there has been a growing gap between the rich and the ultra-rich.
This wealth gap is not an isolated phenomenon among the richest 1%, but has permeated the entire population, leaving a worrying generational scar to which they have already put a figure: 340,000 euros. That is the difference in assets that today separates a person under 35 years of age from someone who is between 65 and 74, according to a report just published by the Santalucía Institute.
A generation that starts from scratch. The data from the report maintain that the median wealth of those under 35 years of age in Spain has plummeted by 76.7% in the last 18 years. Not only do they accumulate fewer assets than their parents at the same age, but a growing proportion of young people “lack significant assets, which limits their financial stability and their ability to undertake long-term vital projects,” the report notes.
The participation of young people under 35 years of age in the country’s total net wealth went from representing around 8.2% of national wealth in 2002 to just 2.1% in 2022. For their part, those over 75 years of age, in the same period, went from representing 8.3% of total wealth to 18.3% in 2022. A wealth transfer that has been redesigning the country’s economic map.
This means that, although the net wealth of Spanish households has grown by 80.9% in the last two decades, this growth has mainly benefited those who already had a certain initial wealth, making the balance of wealth growth lean more towards the older (and more wealthy) population.
The brick that only rose for a few. The Santalucía Institute report ensures that wealth in Spain rests almost entirely on housing, thus explaining the origin of the wealth growth of the oldest segment of the population. More than 80% of household assets are real estate.
That has favored those who bought properties when prices were affordable. Those who came later, today’s young people, have found a market where buying a home is little less than a utopia. The property rate among those under 35 years of age has fallen from 35% in 2023 to 30% in 2025, continuing a clear downward trend. Without home ownership and with rents skyrocketing to historic highs, the assets of young people have no basis on which to grow. Added to this is the job insecurity that characterizes this age group, which further reduces their ability to save, closing a circle from which it is increasingly difficult to escape.
The generation gap in figures. According to data from the ‘Family Financial Survey‘ conducted by the Bank of Spain, the gap between generations reached its historical maximum in 2022 and rose an additional 3% in 2024, the last year for which the entity’s data is collected. People between 65 and 74 years old accumulate on average more than 425,000 euros in deposits, investments and real estate assets, compared to the 83,000 euros that, on average, those under 35 have available. The distance between generations, estimated at 340,000 euros, has never been so great.
Beyond the gap between generations, a report prepared by FEDEA economists based on data from the Bank of Spain confirms that wealth inequality in Spain has grown constantly in the last two decades. The richest 1% concentrates around 21% of the country’s total wealth, while the poorest half barely reaches 7%. The Gini index, which measures this inequality, has risen from 0.57 in 2002 to 0.69 in 2022.
Income also distances. The problem for the youngest is not only the accumulated wealth, but also the income they receive each month. The median income of households between 65 and 74 years old already reaches 34,700 euros per year, this is 2,700 euros above what households headed by those under 35 years of age earn. The most striking thing is the speed at which this change has occurred since, in 2022, that difference was just 500 euros per year, but in just four years that difference has multiplied by five.
Young households already have 8% less income than older households. Less income, less savings, less assets. The Santalucia Institute report, like the OECD has been doing for years, warns that this model points to structural inequality that will have direct implications for housing, the ability to save (and consume) and the redistribution of wealth.
In | How wealth inequality has changed in the world since 2008, explained with a simple graph
Image | Unsplash (Towfiqu Barbhuiya, Brian Ramos)
