Data Shows ‘Millionaires’ Abound in Israel

Israelis are, on average, “millionaires,” at least in shekel terms. According to Central Bureau of Statistics figures, Israeli households on average had NIS 1.2 million in assets, when all assets, including their home, savings, and pension plans were taken into account. Household savings and assets accounted for 42.4 percent of Israeli GDP in 2015, the last year for which numbers were available, the CBS said.

Altogether, total household assets (financial, real estate, and others) were NIS 937.8 billion, NIS 691.1 billion of which were financial assets (pensions, savings, stocks).

That NIS 691.1 billion, when deducted from the total NIS 937.8 billion figure, meant that non-financial assets ccounted for 29.3 percent of total assets for Israeli households. Of the total, 21.8 percent on average was held in stocks and bonds, while 31.3 percent were in “potential” but guaranteed assets, including insurance savings plans, pension payments, and Education Fund payments (Keren Hishtalmut).

Breaking down financial assets per person, Israelis on average are worth NIS 335,000, the seventh best per-person asset ownership among European countries, the CBS figures added.