Why Switzerland is so Filthy Rich

Switzerland has a reputation as one world’s richest nations. But where did all that wealth come from? I did some (gold) digging to find out: Why is Switzerland so rich?

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:52 Stability & Decentralization
04:27 High-Value Industries
06:15 Public Finances
08:27 Strong Currency
09:28 Taxation
11:03 World-Class Infrastructure
12:04 International Population & Swiss Expat
12:48 Education & Development
14:28 The Big Picture

Episode No. 139

S𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧 𝗠𝗘

[XH]

Another interesting particularity of Switzerland is its executive branch.
The country is not ruled by a single king/president/prime minister like almost everywhere else.
Instead, a federal council of 7 equal members assumes the executive power (the president position rotates every year and is purely ceremonial).
Members are elected from different parties, meaning the council never really swing from left to right.
And since no party or individual can control the whole council, there is no easy way to have a backsliding democracy like we see in a lot of countries these days : the only way would be for the Swiss population to elect a single party to the Federal Assembly which is quite unlikely with a fully proportional system.

[mina_en_suiza]

I would also add to the factors the excellent role of trade and crafts teaching in Switzerland: Unlike in Germany, where apprentices are often just used as cheap labour, learning a trade in Switzerland, is taken dead serious. On the other hand: Salaries for people, who learned a trade, are highly competitive against of those people with an academic background and the same applies to the social prestige associated. As a result, the workforce is highly skilled, not only with their brains, but also with their hands.

Greetings from Zurich!

[Opa_Andre]

Ashton, I'm sure you already know, I love your fact-based, outstanding videos. I trust you and your research. But this video has a special feature that I have never seen in any other video on any other YouTube channel I came across. In the credits you publish your sources, so that anyone who doubts can check for themselves how you came to your conclusions. This level of professionalism is really impressive and takes your expertise to another level. I am surprised that this has not yet been acknowledged in any other comment. A highly appreciated little detail. I just love it.

[michalsladek]

Regarding big Swiss companies - Credit Suisse collapsed last year and was taken over by UBS.

[MesutMilleliri]

The key to big returns is not big moving stocks. It's managing risk in relationship to reward. Having the correct size on and turning your edge as many times as necessary to reach your goal. That holds true from long term investing to day trading.

[marcelh]

Direct democracy is a very interesting tool to me. Swiss citizens seem to complain far less about politics and politicians, as in many questions, the populous gets the final say. It is often accepted as the people's will. Which may also be why there are almost no strikes and public services run quite smoothly. Many labor intense things are expensive here, but: normal workers are usually paid a decent salary, products and services tend to be of good quality and crossing the border for EU products is for many people a viable option. Thanks for not showing the boring "Switzerland is only rich because of shady banking deals"-story.

[ronnie]

The problem is that even if you look critically at Switzerland and making a doc like this, it still sounds like a promotion movie of Switzerland. Everything is true about what you have said. I left the Netherlands more then 20 years ago, also a very rich and well organized country, but Switzerland is just next level.

[mrmikron]

Wait... I live in Switzerland. Where is all my promised money?!

[dalebrimhall]

Those sources listed at the end was *chefs kiss* perfection. You are always specific, well informed and backed by evidence but having that final page earns so much respect in my opinion

[ThibaultKreutzer]

Love taking the train from Italy to Germany, passing Switzerland. There is something magical about entering the Gotthard tunnel soaring at 180 km/h and passing by beautiful lakes and majestic mountain ranges.

[tammo]

Swiss public transport is pure perfection!

[conniebruckner]

My great-grandparents were born to rather poor farmers in Switzerland and were encouraged to emigrate to places where they could buy enough farm land. Some of the siblings (14 surviving children) went to the Netherlands, some to the USA and Canada and some to various countries in South America.
In just two generations how things have changed!

[miaks]

One factor for Switzerlands wealth that is always overlooked is also how well cared for everything is!!! I am swiss and I have traveled to over 30 countries all over the world, and one thing that always stuck out to me even in „rich“ countries like Australia, the US or England is how swiss people keep everything spotlessly clean and well maintained at all times. We repair broken fences, patch cracks in walls, recycle everything than can be recycled, touch up paint on houses and even keep the grass edged of the roads tidy. Being mindful of what you have, taking good care and taking pride in fixing things yourself is ingrained into our brains from a very young age. So yes, we are rich, but we also don‘t waste our wealth and sqander our ressources. 🙂 👍 THAT is what helps us STAY rich.

[peter_meyer]

Sunday morning, a cup of tea and Type Ashton.
A good start.

[Andreas_]

I think there is a small, but important addition to the topic of the tax competition between the cantons. Yes, the cantons compete for lower taxes, but there is a certain financial equalisation (Nationaler Finanzausgleich) between the cantons on a national level. So richer cantons support poorer cantons. That way the tax competition is not simply a ruinous race to the bottom. The same is true for the municipalities and cities within the cantons.

[toniderdon]

It is safe to say that Switzerland's system is better than Germany's system. They outperform us in almost every metric. Therefore, we shouldn't be ignorant or too arrogant to accept that and we should try to adapt some of the good things in Switzerland to make our own country better.

[OliverReinhard]

Another carefully researched and presented show, including sources at the end!!. As a born Swiss who has lived here for close to 60 years (with about 5 years abroad on multiple continents) I mostly agree to your analysis. One of the big reasons of the wealth in Switzerland today that you did not mention is international commodities trading and logistics. Check out the international value streams of coffee, cocoa, precious metals, etc. Some of these have risen only in the past 10 or 15 years and create an ENORMOUS wealth, e.g in the Zug and Geneva areas. Furthermore, e.g Google has created a major research centre in Zürich with thousands of employees, who all pay taxes and spend money.

[alekk]

Fun fact: I did a tour in Sankt Gallen in Switzerland where they mentioned the money gesture you do with your fingers and thumb rubbing together came from the area. Back in the day that's how they tested the quality of the Linen produced in the area.

[alexj]

If you compare Swiss salaries to Swiss (domestic) prices, you'll get a purchasing power similar to other "developed" countries. The thing is that the exchange rate between the Swiss Franc and other major currencies is rather unbalanced, because of the high demand for the CHF. And that makes the country look both very rich and very expensive to outsiders. The Swiss National Bank spends a lot of money trying to keep the exchange rate from getting even more out of balance, but not always successfully. And while this makes it easy for the Swiss to buy things abroad, it is quite hard to sell Swiss made products in other countries, because they can't compete with the prices in other countries. That's one reason why many Swiss companies target the luxury segments where customers are willing to pay extra money for a "Swiss quality" label. Other Swiss companies have moved most of their production to other countries and only keep their headquarters within the country.

[slimyelow]

I have to admit, I am filthy but not rich (yet). However growing up in Zürich where I grew up, went to school, did military service and studied (Uni - ZH), I felt average and likely didn' appreciate my country the way I do now after spending a quarter of a century in the US. (20 in LA, 5 in Boston). I only wish I had come back home 10 years prior to 2019. I had to rebuild my life here from scratch and commit to a complete career change which I thought was going to be a pieace of cake. However the Swiss tech industry has gotten extremely picky and the bar to entry is set very high for anyone that can't produce a formal education in the field. After talking to many friends and colleagues (actaully all colleagues, since 'friend' is always associated with 'boyfriend' ) the social mobility aspect is absolutely phenomenal. I dug my heels in, busted my behind and I can say that as of today things are finally beginnig to happen. Dedication and a good (not necessarily hard) work ethic gets you very far in Switzerland. Just about in any field there are plenty of opportunities to grow and move on up.