Climbing into the wealthiest 10% is now a lifetime, and in some places, multiple lifetimes, of work for the average person.
New global data shows that South Africa is the toughest place to break into the top tier, requiring 106 years of savings for someone on an average income to reach the threshold.
The study by SensaPay, which examined income data and wealth benchmarks from national surveys, revealed that in many countries, economic mobility is painfully slow, and the distance between the wealthy and the rest is widening.
The findings emerge against the backdrop of a $2 trillion surge in billionaire wealth in 2024, while global poverty rates remain largely unchanged since 1990.
South Africa’s numbers are particularly sobering. The average annual income sits at $6,480, and the top 10% wealth threshold is $172,000, the lowest in the ranking. Even so, for most South Africans, the gap is far too wide to close within a single lifetime.
The United Kingdom follows closely behind, with an estimated 103 years of savings needed. Median income is $14,793, but the wealthiest 10% hold at least $1.52 million. This slow climb reflects deep-rooted structural barriers to upward mobility.
In third place is the United States, where an average middle-class earner on $19,306 annually would need 98 years to reach the $1.9 million top-tier mark. The U.S. also has the highest wealth gap in the report, underlining the disparity between wages and asset-driven wealth growth.
Mexico ranks fourth at 76 years, followed by China at 63 years. Italy, France, and Spain are next, with timelines ranging from 54 to 49 years, despite significant differences in income levels and wealth thresholds.
Canada and Germany offer the shortest routes among the top ten, at 46 years each, though both still demand nearly half a century of disciplined savings. In Canada, the bar is $865,200, while in Germany it’s $780,000.
A spokesperson from SensaPay spoke about the implications: “These extreme timelines highlight how wealth accumulation has become increasingly disconnected from regular work and saving—while the average person struggles for decades to build modest wealth, the truly rich often see their fortunes grow by millions in a single year through investments and asset appreciation.
“The gap isn’t just about different income levels, but fundamentally different wealth-building mechanisms: most people trade time for money, while the wealthy make money work for them through ownership of capital.”
The report’s conclusions align that in most economies, hard work alone will not close the gap. Without significant changes in how wealth is created and shared, the climb into the richest brackets will remain out of reach for generations of average earners.
