The richest 10 per cent of households in the Republic hold almost half the wealth, new figures show.

The Central Bank’s latest household wealth data indicates that the total net wealth of households here rose to a record €1.25 trillion in the first quarter of 2025, up €6.3 billion on the previous quarter.

The figures showed that the wealthiest 10 per cent of households held €645 billion or 48.6 per cent of the total.

This was five times the wealth held by the bottom 50 per cent of households which stood at €117.8 billion or 8.9 per cent of the national total.

The share of wealth held by the top 10 per cent of households has, however, fallen back from over 50 per cent in 2021.

The total wealth of Irish households has jumped by almost 43 per cent since 2021 – from €847 billion to €1.25 trillion.

This comes despite the recent period of inflation and is, in the main, a function of higher real estate values. Increased savings rates during the pandemic also played a role.

The latest figures showed housing wealth reached €855 billion in the first quarter, representing 68.5 per cent of total household wealth.

[ One in 10 Irish households have net wealth of more than €1mOpens in new window ]

The total value of housing assets increased by €15.2 billion from the previous quarter and was up by €308 billion or 56 per cent since 2021 largely due to what the bank described as “positive revaluations of existing housing assets”.

The figures showed financial assets owned by the household sector decreased by €8.9 billion quarter on quarter “as negative revaluations more than offset investment in the period”.

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Household net worth is calculated by adding the total value of the housing stock and financial assets — such as cash savings, shares, pensions and possessions such as cars and antiques — and subtracting debt owed or liabilities.

[ ‘Retired households’ hold 27% of net wealth in Ireland, says GoodbodyOpens in new window ]

It is considered a crude measure of prosperity as it hides the distribution of household assets and liabilities across income groups and age categories.

Separate Central Bank figures show the number of millionaire households (those with net wealth of €1 million or more) more than doubled from 5 per cent to 12 per cent between 2013 and 2022, increasing from approximately 87,000 to 223,000 households over the period.

“Today’s report shows that wealth inequality is high in Ireland, with the wealthiest 10 per cent of Irish households owning almost half of the total household net wealth in the country,” said Sarah McGurrin, head of employee benefits at wealth management firm NFP Ireland.

“So many families across this county will be bemused by the increase in household wealth recorded in today’s report as they will not be sharing or even getting a look in to this uplift in wealth,” she said.

“It’s interesting though that for the first time in five years, the net wealth of the wealthiest 10 per cent decreased, albeit slightly,” she said.

Ms McGurrin noted the surge in house prices of recent years has buoyed the wealth of many Irish homeowners.

“However, the steep rises in house prices also mean that houses remain unaffordable for many,” she said.