Goldman Sachs says equities have replaced real estate as the primary driver of US household wealth for the first time since World War II. Family office data cited by the bank shows public equity allocations rising to 31% in 2025, while private real estate and infrastructure sit at 11%.
Equities have overtaken real estate as the primary driver of US household wealth for the first time since World War II, according to Goldman Sachs. The finding is drawn from the bank's latest research and its 2025 Family Office Investment Insights Report, and it marks a structural turning point in how American wealth is built and concentrated across income levels.
The numbers behind the shift
Goldman's family office data shows public equity allocations climbing to 31% in 2025, up from 28% in 2023. That is a decisive tilt toward liquid, growth-oriented assets among the wealthiest households and institutional family offices.
Private real estate and infrastructure allocations, by contrast, sit at just 11% in 2025. That figure edged up only slightly from prior years. Real estate still matters enormously for middle-income households, where a home often represents the single largest asset, but at higher net worth tiers equities have pulled ahead.
Why the shift happened now
Goldman's 2025-2026 outlook highlights AI-related growth opportunities as a key theme driving equity market returns. The bank also flags increased dispersion within equity markets, meaning stock-picking skill matters more than when everything went up together.
On the real estate side, the Federal Reserve's rate hiking cycle that began in 2022 made mortgages expensive and transaction volumes sluggish. Goldman's outlook suggests real estate could rebound if interest rates come down.
What it means for risk assets
Goldman's report doesn't explicitly address cryptocurrency allocations. But the broader trend it describes — capital moving from illiquid, physical assets toward liquid, growth-focused instruments — is directionally favorable for digital assets.
The composition shift also changes market structure. When household wealth is concentrated in equities, those households become more sensitive to market drawdowns, so a sharp correction in stocks now hits aggregate net worth harder than it would have a decade ago.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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