From about 2000 to 2020, many major economies became increasingly unbalanced. Sharp rises in asset values saw the growth in wealth rapidly outpace GDP,1“Out of balance: What’s next for growth, wealth, and debt?,” McKinsey Global Institute, October 9, 2025. leaving economies vulnerable to painful inflation or asset price corrections.2 Available data shows that this trend has characterised multiple high-income economies since at least the mid-1990s—and possibly earlier—though limited data availability makes it difficult to identify a clear starting point. For more, see McKinsey Global Institute reports “The future of wealth and growth hangs in the balance,” May 24, 2023, and “Out of balance: What’s next for growth, wealth, and debt?,” October, 9 2025. The United Kingdom is an example: Wealth rose rapidly for 25 years, but higher inflation since 2020 reversed some of the paper gains, reducing the imbalance but leaving households almost £4 trillion worse off in real terms.…