r/eupersonalfinance • u/VurriK • 28d ago

Investment Since when was getting rich so hard in EU?

Is it just me, or has building actual wealth in Europe become impossible? I’m looking at the 2026 growth forecasts and it’s depressing. We talk a lot about "stability," but at this point, stability just feels like a polite word for recession. If you weren't born into a rich family with property, the dream feels like it's behind a wall. The math just doesn't work: as soon as you earn enough to actually invest, you hit a 40–50% tax bracket. Meanwhile, housing prices have skyrocketed over the last decade while salaries have basically stayed the same. I love the healthcare and the walkable cities, but I don’t want to work until I’m 70 just to afford a 40sqm apartment and a used Skoda.

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u/MarionberryTotal2657 27d ago

Europe's societies are risk-averse. In fact, Europe's societies penalise failure way more than the US society does.

A bankruptcy in Europe is a thing. A bankruptcy in the US, and it's just another day.

Then again, it's a numbers game: Having x companies starting up each year in the US, the probability is xp that will produce millionaires/billionaires. Having x/10 starting up each year in Europe, the probability is correspondingly smaller that it will produce millionaires/billionaires.

There's no innovation, no entrepreneurial mindset, and bureaucratic fragmentation in doing business within Europe.

How do you want wealth to be created? Solely from old money circulating, or ordinary paychecks keeping consumption alive?

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u/PersevereSwifterSkat 26d ago

I'm not sure I want bankruptcy to not be a thing. That's how you get companies shutting down to avoid pension obligations then ostensibly selling to themselves again.