Your salary has not moved much lately and feels stagnant. You are not alone and it is not just a feeling. While paychecks have stayed stuck, asset prices have exploded, redrawing the map of India’s wealth economy. Akshat Shrivastava, founder of Wisdom Hatch, summed it up bluntly on LinkedIn: “People who invested in assets overtook those depending on basic salary.”
Backed by complex data, the post outlines how wages have disappeared while asset prices have surged. Between 2020 and 2025, gold prices jumped 65% through 2023, leaving everyone dumbfounded, followed by another 56% surge in 2025. The Nifty 500 index gained more than 80% from 2020 to 2023 despite sharp market swings, while real estate prices climbed 30% between FY19 and FY23, far ahead of wage increments.
But the real shock lies in salaries, as wage growth has remained muted or negative. According to the PLFS (Periodic Labour Force Survey), regular wages actually fell 0.07% even as India’s GDP grew at an average of 6.7% between FY22 & FY24. Even traditionally high-paying sectors like IT & BFSI faced wage freezes with minimal increments. Employees relying purely on fixed paychecks saw little growth, while those with equity or ESOPs, especially in tech and startups, enjoyed significant wealth creation.
Also Read: What will be the Expected Gold Rate in 2025 in India?
“Gold, houses, stocks, all are growing faster than salaries,” Shrivastava pointed out. “Wealth is being built through financialization of assets, not through hard work anymore.” His post highlights a broader structural shift, claiming the economy is rewarding ownership, not effort.
The numbers tell their own story. The total value of Indian households’ equity and gold holdings surged from $1.8 trillion to $2.7 trillion in just three years, as investors rode the asset boom. Economists call it the era of financialization, where capital and market gains are leaving labor income behind.
As corporate profits and asset values balloon, average paychecks have not kept up, deepening the divide between those who own assets and those who rely solely on salaries. For India’s middle class, that widening gap could define the decade ahead.
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