In France, the adage ” he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth » seems to find a tangible reality. the show” Cash research “will reveal in his investigation” The wonderful world of the ultra-rich“, which will be broadcast on France 2 on November 16, amazing statistics as the site highlights. Francetvinfo.fr. Among the 122 billionaires listed in France by Challenge magazine in 2022, 60% of them inherited a family business. This survey highlights a surprising observation: the more colossal the fortune, the more closely it appears to be tied to family wealth.
The numbers speak for themselves: among the top 40 French billionaires, 75% inherited their wealth. This reality is further accentuated by closely observing the nine great French fortunes, all of which come from a family heritage. This study thus confirms the substantial weight of intergenerational transmission in the construction of the country’s most massive fortunes.
Elise Lucet, iconic host of ” Cash research“, he compared this data with Nicolas Frémeaux, economist specializing in inheritances and renowned author. His reaction to this reality is far from surprising. According to him, the rise to wealth in France is based more on the chance of birth than on individual effort. He emphasizes that the importance of inheritance in the formation of wealth proves to be predominant, relegating effort and merit to second place in the race for fortune.
” If you want to be at the top of the hierarchy of fortunes, it is better to rely on your heritage, on being born in the right place, at the right time, in the right family than on your own effort. So effort alone, merit alone may be a bit insufficient here to be one of the French billionaires“, explains the economist on the microphone of France 2.
Thus, some economists describe France as a “society of heirs”. This observation raises profound questions about equal opportunity and access to wealth in the country. The trend observed by “Cash Investigation” calls for a rethinking of social and economic mechanisms to reduce structural inequalities, thus guaranteeing fairer opportunities for everyone.
