Wealth has been less studied than income as a factor influencing health, despite being more unequally distributed and a better indicator of long-term advantage. This is partly due to the difficulty of collecting detailed data on assets and debts. Using Norwegian register data, Gugushvili and Wiborg examined how wealth at ages 37–38 relates to death rates up to age 62. They found that people with lower wealth had much higher mortality, especially men.

The study’s strength lies in its design. It adjusted for income, debt, and shared family traits, including among siblings and twins. This showed the link between wealth and mortality is not fully explained by other factors. The authors used gross wealth (total assets) as their main measure and treated debt separately, arguing that net wealth (assets minus debt) can mask important differences.

They also found that the impact of wealth on health varies by gender and by the type of assets people hold. For example, in the UK, poorer people tend to hold physical assets while wealthier people hold pensions. This research highlights the need to better understand how different forms of wealth affect health, and how policy—such as wealth taxes—might reduce health inequalities.