Picked it up on Drudge but it’s from The Sydney Morning Herald:

Thanks to their houses, Australians are the richest people in the world, according to the investment bank Credit Suisse.

The fifth annual study by the Swiss bank of global wealth trends found the median Australian adult was worth more than $US225,000 ($258,000) in June, well ahead of the second wealthiest population on this measure, the ­Belgians, at $US173,000.

They were followed by the Italians, French and British, all at around $US110,000.

Only 6 per cent of Australians have wealth below $US10,000, compared with 29 per cent in the United States and 70 per cent for the world as a whole.

Of course, if our wealth is tied up in our over-priced houses – all thanks to the foreign money pouring into the housing market – it’s not exactly letting us live high on hog. But on paper we are really doing well. Just one more way amongst many in which how we collect statistics provides one misleading indicator after another.