The word fortune is a synonym for ability, ability or Potenzial: Fortune has, who is able to do something.

In the technical language of the political economy the word stands for the whole of material goods in the property of humans or a body: Fortune has, who has goods. Typical kinds of fortunes in the economical sense are for example cash, real estates, shares or patents. The opposite of fortunes in the broader sense is inability, the opposite of fortunes in the closer sense is absence of assets. Fortune in the closer sense divided into plant and circulating capital. Fortune articles are arranged frequently according to rising liquidity, on the basis the speed, with which they can be converted into money.

In the colloquial language the word is used mainly in connection with considerable or at least larger possession: Humans "„have fortunes "“or "„are wealthy "“, if he can be seen socially abgesichtert as wealthy or at least. If one says about humans the fact that he does not have "„a fortune "“or "„"“is not wealthy, then one does not mean with the fact accordingly that he nothing at all, but only that he does not possess particularly much.

Term demarcation

Fortune is not to confound with capital, which is not directly available for the purpose of its increase in investments put on and. Fortune against it remains in the possession and thus available, in the form of money (financial resources) and goods, including consumer goods. Another term is wealth.

Wealth taxes

Fortune is loaded in some states (under it the USA and Great Britain) with a wealth tax. In Germany the wealth tax is not no more levied since 1997.

Operating ability

The operating ability designates the equivalent of the possession of an enterprise, which covers the equivalent of mental property (e.g. patents, label names) beside purely material goods (e.g. cash in hand, real estates, machines, participation) also. The operating ability represents one of the substantial sizes for the evaluation of an enterprise and/or a share in the context of the fundamental analysis.

National wealth

By national wealth one understands i.d.R. the goods, achievements and tax fundses of a nation or a group of peoples (national wealth of the Sudeten Germans e.g. expropriated).

In the VGR is defined the national wealth as the sum of all net assets.

See major item fortune in the economical Gesamtrechnung.

Vermehrung of the fortune

For most humans the Vermehrung of the material fortune represents a substantial motivation of its activities. This can take place among other things by means of a private financial plan.

Property distribution

In the Federal Republic of Germany are according to data of the statistic federal office (income and consumption sample for the year 1998) 20 per cent of the households in possession of 71 per cent of all gross financial resources (see also Pareto principle). The richest 10 per cent possess about half of the total assets (in the sense of gross financial resources).

One understands the sum of all demands in the financial statements of assets and liabilities by gross financial resources. If one takes the sum off of all commitments (liabilities) from the gross financial resources, one receives the net financial resources.

Promotion of the accumulation of assets

There private accumulation of assets an alternative to insurance represents it by some states is promoted. See also employee savings extra pay, housing bonus, age precaution extra pay.

Economical Gesamtrechnung

The European system of the VGR ESVG confronts the commitments, liabilities to net assets, the active (fortune goods and demands) in the list of statements of assets and liabilities. The balance is net assets. This is called for the national economy altogether the national wealth.

In financial statements of assets and liabilities the commitments are confronted to the demands, the balance are the net financial resources. These financial statements of assets and liabilities are set up and published by the German Federal Bank.

The fortune goods consist of the produced and not-produced fortune goods.

The produced fortune goods consist of tangible assets (fixed assets) and the supplies and the valuable articles.

The not-produced fortune goods consist of the not-produced material properties such as reason and soil, free animal and plant existence and water reserves as well as of the immaterial not-produced fortune goods such as patents, rights to use, activated goodwill and other immaterial not-produced net assets.

See also

• View ability
• Intellectual capacity
• Ability of getting through

Related links

• Federal Government 2001a: Situations in life in Germany. The first poverty and wealth report of the Federal Government, Berlin. (Pdf)
• Second poverty and wealth report of the Federal Government
• To the fortune in the VGR definition and explanations of the Federal Statistical Office in: Revision of the 1991 to 2001

Articles in category "Fortune"

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