At the start of 2021, half of all households living in ordinary housing in France reported their gross wealth to be higher than 177,200 euros, accounting for 92% of total gross wealth. Real estate property, primarily the main residence, accounted for around 70% of the gross wealth of households in the fourth to ninth decile of the distribution. The top 10% of households had more business assets, while the bottom 10% had mainly regulated financial products and durable goods, and more debt.

In 2021, average wealth increased with age up to around 50 years of age, stabilised, and then decreased after the age of 75 for people living at home.

The distribution of wealth is more unequal than the distribution of living standards. Inequalities in wealth have increased over the last twenty years. The rise in property prices, particularly in the early 2000s, widened the gap between households with property assets and those without.

Three out of ten people had inherited during their lifetime; these households had almost twice as much gross wealth as households that have never inherited.

Different household profiles can be distinguished according to the type of assets they own. The most affluent households (17% of households) tended to have highly diversified assets, including risky products such as securities, business assets and often other property in addition to their main residence. Conversely, the least wealthy households (43% of households) mainly held savings accounts, and sometimes consumer loans; young people were over-represented here. Households with intermediate levels of wealth (40% of households) mainly owned their main residence; among them, households aged between 40 and 60 were more often in debt than those aged over 60.

Between 2018 and 2021, half of those living in households whose composition had remained stable stayed in the same tenth of the wealth distribution. There was little movement up the wealth ladder, but it generally went upwards.