New data from the Office for National Statistics has revealed that private household net wealth in the UK totalled £9 trillion (around $14.66 trillion) in 2006/08, along with giving interesting insights into the distribution of wealth.

The Wealth in Great Britain report, the first of its kind compiled by the ONS, found that 39 per cent of UK wealth was held in property and private pensions. Net financial wealth and tangible assets such as cars and antiques each accounted for 11 per cent of UK wealth.

The study revealed a significant regional bias towards the south-east in terms of where the UK’s wealth is distributed. Median household wealth in the south-east was £287,900, while the lowest median was Scotland with £150,600. Median household wealth across the UK was £204,500 in 2006/08.

Perhaps predictably, ONS also found an unequal distribution of wealth, with the wealthiest 20 per cent of households holding 62 per cent of the UK’s total wealth. The least wealthy half of households accounted for just 9 per cent of total wealth, while the least wealthy 10 per cent of households actually had negative wealth.

Another noteworthy finding is that the wealthiest households in the UK are those headed by a self-employed person, closely followed by those where a retired person is the head. The median wealth for self-employed households was £283,200 while that for retired households was £268,600 – both significantly higher than the median of £217,500 recorded for employee-led households.

Almost 30,600 households were surveyed for the Wealth in Great Britain report over the 2006/08 period, which according to ONS represents some 24,580,000 households when grossed to the population.