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The Significance of Wealth Research: Review of a Funding Programme

Author: Malene Hummel

Mann und Frau herzen Mädchen, das einen Geldschein in der Hand hält, im Hintergrund fliegende Geldbündel

Jonas Willingstorfer für VolkswagenStiftung

Why is wealth increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few? The “Perspectives on Wealth” initiative is coming to an end after two calls for proposals – its 15 international projects, with a total budget of €38.3 million, have investigated how wealth shapes politics, society and inequality. Some  projects will continue until 2029

The Perspectives on Wealth funding initiative was launched to strengthen the field of wealth research and open up new perspectives on inequality. It is no longer accepting applications – but the funded projects continue to have an impact.

When we developed ‘Perspectives on Wealth’, our aim was to specifically strengthen a field of research that had not previously been systematically explored.

Dr Nora Kottmann heads the responsible funding team "Social Transformations"

The programme was launched in response to growing global inequality – in both income and wealth. When the initiative started in 2021, Oxfam estimated that the world’s 2,000 richest people held more wealth than 60 per cent of the global population – and wealth concentration has continued to rise since then. Whilst growing inequality has so far been researched primarily from the perspective of poverty, the phenomenon of wealth has scarcely been systematically addressed in academic circles. 

A shift in perspective from poverty research to wealth research

Through its “Perspectives on Wealth” initiative, the Volkswagen Foundation aimed to close this research gap and, in doing so, to initiate a shift in focus from poverty research to wealth research. The funded projects are developing new conceptual, methodological and empirical approaches to the topic. The Foundation regards wealth research as a global, interdisciplinary field of research – with the aim of providing robust findings to inform the societal debate on inequality.

"Perspectives on Wealth" in figures

  • Calls for proposals: two, in 2022 and 2024
  • Funded projects: 15 projects and five summer schools
  • Project duration: up to four years 
  • Funding amount: up to €1.5 million
  • Total funding approved: approximately €38.3 million

Funding has been and continues to be provided to (inter)national consortia: transdisciplinary teams and collaborations with countries in the Global South were explicitly encouraged in the calls for proposals. Most of the research projects are still ongoing – some until 2029. As part of the funding programme, two symposia were also held at Herrenhausen Palace in Hanover: here, the grant recipients were able to exchange ideas, build sustainable networks and jointly establish the field of wealth research.

Funded projects: On land issues, everyday conversations and political decisions

Politics and Wealth: a Lopsided Alliance?

A small, wealthy minority is becoming ever more wealthy. Prof. Dr Eva Wegner and Prof. Dr Miquel Pellicer ask: How does politics contribute to growing economic inequality – and whose interests do MPs actually represent? Based at the University of Marburg, the political scientist and the economist lead an interdisciplinary team of experts in political science, law and economics, working at locations in Brazil, the UK, South Africa and Germany

Illustration: Reproduktion von Reichtum

WealthTalks: Wealth inequality in everyday conversations

How do people talk about wealth and inequality in everyday conversations? And how do such conversations make wealth inequality appear justified or inevitable? Dr David Schieferdecker and his team in Berlin, the UK, Brazil, the US and South Africa are analysing online debates, focus groups and public dialogues to find out. In addition, they are conducting experiments to test how patterns of argumentation shape attitudes towards inequality and redistribution

Vier Menschen sitzen auf einer Mauer

Wealth and Space: Controversial Geographies in Latin America

Prof. Dr Michael Janoschka and his international research team are investigating how economic elites in Latin America use and reshape land, resources, infrastructure and urban spaces in order to accumulate wealth. Three case studies in Brazil, Chile and Mexico analyse exploitative dynamics and power relations. The aim is to create greater transparency regarding inequality and to generate approaches for sustainable, fairer development

Gruppenfoto

Wealth Research: Impact and Outlook

The initiative is being ended because its goal has been achieved: the foundation has provided a significant impetus for a new field of research. At the "Perspectives on Wealth" symposium in April 2026, the grant recipients made it clear that research into wealth is gaining momentum – driven by a growth in empirical work and international collaboration. The key now is for this field of research to become further established.

The symposium also highlighted the need to further develop research into wealth – for example, through greater interdisciplinary collaboration, broader global perspectives, and an expansion of science communication and institutional embedding. Against this backdrop, the Foundation is providing additional funding to support ongoing projects in publicising their findings and reflecting on their impact – including for innovative and creative forms of science communication.

Project overview

You can find information on all funded "Perspectives on Welath" projects in our project database. 

To the funded projects
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