You can't compare wealth as simplisticly as you imply, for a multitude of reasons, the top three being: * Wealth includes house ownership, but in many EU count

You can't compare wealth as simplisticly as you imply, for a multitude of reasons, the top three being: * Wealth includes house ownership, but in many EU countries living in a rented apartment is normal and even preferred, mostly because strong regulatory protection of tenant's rights. As an example our family could easily afford owning a house in the suburbs but still lives for rent in the city, because quality of life is better here. * In the US, wealth includes savings for pension, whereas in many EU countries pensions are organized collectively, like an insurance. In other words most EU pension schemes are not visible in wealth statistics. * Same for healthcare. I know of noone in my social circle saving for eventual healthcare crises because that is cared for by health insurance.