South Korea’s young rich vs old rich: Coins, art outpace bonds, funds

Young South Korean millionaires, placing bold wagers on unconventional financial assets such as cryptocurrencies and art, are gaining ground fast, growing in number at twice the rate of their older counterparts, who remain anchored in traditional assets like bonds and funds.

In anticipation of a slowdown in the global economy, high-net-worth individuals in Asia’s fourth-largest economy are, however, expected to add more safe assets like gold to their wealth portfolios this year, regardless of age.

According to the “2025 South Korea Wealth Report” released by Hana Bank’s Hana Financial Research Institution on Wednesday, the number of the young rich aged 49 and under – those holding at least 1 billion won ($704,000) in bank deposits – grew twice as fast as the wealthy generation aged 50 and above.

The report is based on a survey of 3,010 high-net-worth individuals with over 1 billion won in financial assets or assets worth between 100 million and 999 million won.

It found the number of the younger nouveau riche, or the young rich, has increased at an average annual rate of 6% versus 3% for the older generation. 

These young Korean millionaires own assets worth 6 billion won on average, of which 3 billion won is invested in financial assets.

UNCONVENTIONAL VS TRADITIONAL

By asset class, they opt for virtual assets, like cryptocurrencies, and tangible assets, mainly gold and artwork.

Of the young money’s assets, 28.7% are invested in cryptocurrencies, three times as much as the old money’s 10%.

Their holdings of tangible assets stand at 40.7% versus the old rich’s 37.7%.

Fund and trust products account for 58.6% of old millionaires’ financial assets, and bonds make up 45.7%. The rising rich invest less in these traditional assets.

The next-gen rich also tend to make bolder bets on investment.

Of younger high-net-worth individuals, 21.0% responded that they are willing to borrow money from financial institutions to invest. However, only 4.9% of older wealthy individuals are willing to take out loans for investment.

Of the affluent young respondents, 29.9% said they frequently check their investment returns and promptly respond to market changes.

FLIGHT TO SAFE HAVENS

As the economy faces a rocky road in the near term, wealthy individuals are expected to flock to safe-haven assets, according to the survey.

Of the survey respondents, 74.8% project the real economy to deteriorate this year.

Under the circumstances, 40.4% of the survey respondents, regardless of age, said they will keep their money in bank deposits this year, while 32.2% and 32.0% will invest in gold and bonds, respectively. Real estate investment makes up 20.4%.

The report also found that more people have become keen on investment in virtual assets, with virtual asset holdings of wealthy individuals growing to 18% in 2024 from 12% in 2022. Their average investment in digital assets stands at 42 million won.

The report also showed that 36% of affluent people agree with the statement that “marriage is necessary,” compared to 27% among those with less than 100 million won in financial assets.

When choosing a spouse, wealthy individuals tend to place greater importance on factors such as family background, parents’ hometown, sibling order and educational background than the general public.

Write to Hyun-Ju Jang at blacksea@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.