Page 3 - 1. What Wealthy Means to Australians in 2023

1 . I NT R O D U C T I O N

This report provides a demographic and social assessment
of how attitudes towards “being wealthy” have changed over
time in Australia.

The focus is the broad base of middle For interest, the report includes a timeline
Australia which may be loosely defined of event markers that tracks how middle
as the middle 80 per cent of the Australia has changed since federation.
Australian population.
The report also draws upon selected data
The objective is to determine how from the AMP 2022 Financial Wellness
attitudes towards “feeling wealthy” report.
have changed and if so, what are the
It also cites quotes and insights from
criteria that middle Australia is likely
a series of focus group discussions
to require in order to feel wealthy (and
conducted for AMP by Fifth Dimension
secure) in the 2020s and beyond.
in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in
This report acknowledges but is not January 2023.
designed to capture attitudes to
The focus groups comprised Millennials,
wealth by those falling outside the
Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers; the
cohort (as defined) of middle Australia.
discussions centred on what it takes for
Studies of extreme wealth and poverty
middle Australia to feel wealthy. (Hint: it’s
in Australia are available elsewhere.
not all about money.)
This report draws upon a range of
This What it means to be wealthy report
demographic, social and cultural
was commissioned by AMP and was
indicators sourced from Australian
completed by Bernard Salt AM and his
censuses extending, in some cases,
team at The Demographics Group.
between 1911 and 2021. Other data
sourced from the ABS and the IMF is Data and graphics have been prepared by A B O U T T H E AU T H O R
also cited. data scientist Hari Hara Priya Kannan.
Bernard Salt AM is executive director of The Demographics Group.
He has authored six books. He writes 2 weekly columns for The Australian
newspaper. He was a partner with KPMG Australia for 15 years. He is a regular on
the corporate speaking circuit. He founded The Demographics Group in 2017.
2 What wealthy means to Australians in 2023