Where Billionaires Live With Income Equality

Asked about Sweden, we might mention their egalitarian ethic and high taxes.

But not billionaires.

Sweden’s Billionaires

In Forbes 2024 Rich List, 43 Swedes were worth $1 billion or more. For a country with just 10 million people, that meant four per million were billionaires. (The U.S. has two per million.)

Tech could be the reason. Called the Silicon Valley of Europe, Sweden in Spotify’s home. Similarly, Skype, Tetra Pak, Mojang, Tink, Klarna, and King were developed in Sweden. And, even if we leave tech, we still have Ikea and H&M.

Still, some ask why it was Sweden. The answer could be a 1990s tax rebate on home computers that jumpstarted the tech culture and also the elimination of wealth and inheritance taxes more than a decade ago. In addition, the culture is just right. A collaborative start-up scene and the proliferation of role models formed a norm that built on itself. We could also cite the low interest rates that spurred tech investments. As for taxes, they do pay a stratospheric 50 percent (and more) income tax rate but it goes to a top notch healthcare system and education.

Whatever the reasons, the numbers reflect the results that now are continuing with the “impact” investing that targets society and the environment. In 2023, by far exceeding its European sisters, 74 percent of Sweden’s venture capital went to impact companies.

Our Bottom Line: Gini Coefficients

At this point, I discovered somewhat of an anomaly.

While Sweden’s billionaire population is high, so too is its income equality. Through a scale of 0 to 1, we can use a Gini Index to quantify inequality in a country. The higher the number, the more unequal the distribution of income or consumption expenditures. Zero is perfect equality while 1 is complete inequality:

On a global scale, Sweden has one of the lower Gini numbers:

So yes, logic tells us that because wealth and income are different. a high number of innovative billionaires and income equality can co-exist But, adding Sweden’s 29 percent stock market dip in 2022, we have more pieces to place in this puzzle.

My sources and more: The BBC is a good place to start for current facts about Sweden’s billionaires. But even looking back 11 years ago, Slate was saying the same thing. And finally, the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report told us that Swedish wealth was slipping after a 2022 29 percent stock market slide.