Wealth in Lebanon

ENAR

This article is part of an Executive special report on wealth management and private banking. Read more stories as they’re published here, or pick up September’s issue at newsstands in Lebanon. The numbers are clear. There is something deeply wrong with Lebanese capitalism. Yes, there is considerable wealth that is readily visible to all as wealth manifests itself in buildings, cars, lifestyles and so on. But beyond the appearances of prosperity lie the festering problems of an economy that is unable to generate jobs for its young (24 percent unemployment among youth), produces mostly low paying jobs (average monthly wage around $1,000), excludes women from productive labor (23 percent female labor participation rate), suffers from a persistent debt problem (160 percent of GDP), is burdened by foreign debt that no one talks about (170 percent of GDP) and finally is unable to provide public services and goods such as electricity,