How U.S. College Students Feel About Their Finances

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May 29, 2024 Graphics/Design:

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Wealth Survey: How U.S. Students Feel About Their Finances

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Student debt in the U.S. has ballooned to over $1.7 trillion, burdening millions of Americans with financial stress. Rising tuition costs and stagnating wages are considered to be the major drivers of this issue.

To gain insight into how this is affecting students, we’ve visualized the results of WalletHub’s Student Money Survey.

This survey was conducted in 2024 with a nationally representative sample of 210 students. Results were normalized by gender and income.

Data and Key Findings

Student wealth surveys can provide unique insights into the financial preparedness of younger Americans.

Starting with post-grad fears, it appears that the majority of students are afraid of either not finding a job, or paying off their debt.

What is your biggest
post-grad fear?% of respondents 😔 Not finding a job39 💸 Student loan debt35 💳 Credit card debt13 🏠 Living with parents13

Some of these worries could subside in the future, as the federal government appears committed to cancelling federal student debt.

The latest news came on May 22, 2024, when the Education Department announced it would cancel $7.7 billion for borrowers who received Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which includes professions like teachers and nurses.

Regardless, 77% of students surveyed believed that their tuition was a good investment.

Not Learning Enough

Another highlight from this study was that nearly half (49%) of students feel that their school does not do enough to teach them about personal finance.

When survey respondents were asked to choose which topic they wished they had learned more about, the most common answer was “How to do my taxes”.

Learn More About the U.S. Education System from Visual Capitalist

If you enjoy posts like these, check out Mapped: Personal Finance Requirements by State, which visualizes where high school students are required to take a personal finance course.

The Start of De-Dollarization: China’s Gradual Move Away from the USD

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May 22, 2024 The Start of De-Dollarization: China’s Move Away from the USD

Since 2010, the majority of China’s cross-border payments, like those of many countries, have been settled in U.S. dollars (USD). As of the first quarter of 2023, that’s no longer the case.

This graphic from the Hinrich Foundation, the second in a three-part series covering the future of trade, provides visual context to the growing use of the Chinese renminbi (RMB) in payments both domestically and globally.  

The De-Dollarization of China’s Cross-Border Transactions

This analysis uses Bloomberg data on the share of China’s payments and receipts in RMB, USD, and other currencies from 2010 to 2024. 

In the first few months of 2010, settlements in local currency accounted for less than 1.0% of China’s cross-border payments, compared to approximately 83.0% in USD. 

China has since closed that gap. In March 2023, the share of the RMB in China’s settlements surpassed the USD for the first time.

DateRenminbiU.S. DollarOther March 20100.3%84.3%15.4% March 20114.8%81.3%13.9% March 201211.5%77.1%11.5% March 201318.1%72.7%9.2% March 201426.6%64.8%8.6% March 201529.0%61.9%9.0% March 201623.6%66.7%9.7% March 201717.6%72.5%9.9% March 201823.2%67.4%9.4% March 201926.2%65.1%8.7% March 202039.3%54.4%6.3% March 202141.7%52.6%5.6% March 202242.1%53.3%4.7% March 202348.4%46.7%4.9% March 202452.9%42.8%4.3%

Since then, the de-dollarization in Chinese international settlements has continued.  

As of March 2024, over half (52.9%) of Chinese payments were settled in RMB while 42.8% were settled in USD. This is double the share from five years previous. According to Goldman Sachs, foreigners’ increased willingness to trade assets denominated in RMB significantly contributed to de-dollarization in favor of China’s currency. Also, early last year, Brazil and Argentina announced that they would begin allowing trade settlements in RMB. 

Most Popular Currencies in Foreign Exchange (FX) Transactions

Globally, analysis from the Bank for International Settlements reveals that, in 2022, the USD remained the most-used currency for FX settlements. The euro and the Japanese yen came in second and third, respectively.

Currency20132022Change (pp) U.S. Dollar87.0%88.5%+1.5 Euro33.4%30.5%-2.9 Yen23.0%16.7%-6.3 Pound Sterling11.8%12.9%+1.1 Renminbi2.2%7.0%+4.8 Other42.6%44.4%+1.8 Total200.0%200.0%

The

Ranked: The World’s 50 Largest Private Equity Firms

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May 16, 2024 Article/Editing: Graphics/Design:

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The World’s 50 Largest Private Equity Firms

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

In 2023, private equity firms controlled $8.2 trillion in assets globally according to McKinsey & Company, a figure that has rapidly expanded since the industry first emerged 40 years ago.

As large investors such as pension funds and insurance companies increasingly look to private markets, these alternative asset managers have seen their assets grow by more than twofold in the last five years.

This graphic shows the top 50 private equity firms worldwide, based on data from Private Equity International (PEI).

The Top 50 Private Equity Firms

To determine the rankings, private equity firms were defined as those that raise capital with the purpose of directly investing in businesses, covering diversified private equity, venture capital, growth equity, buyouts, along with turnaround or control-oriented distressed investment capital.

The ranking does not include funds of funds, private investment in public equity (PIPE), or funds that follow a secondaries, real estate, infrastructure, hedge fund, debt or mezzanine strategies.

Below, we show the 50 biggest private equity companies around the world, measured by the scale of capital raised over the five-year period ending March 31, 2023:

RankingFund ManagerCityCapital Raised 1BlackstoneNew York$125.6B 2KKRNew York$103.7B 3EQTStockholm$101.7B 4Thoma BravoChicago$74.1B 5The Carlyle GroupWashington DC$69.7B 6TPGFort Worth$55.0B 7Advent InternationalBoston$52.9B 8HgLondon$51.0B 9General AtlanticNew York$48.7B 10Warburg PincusNew York$48.5B 11Silver LakeMenlo Park$48.3B 12Goldman SachsNew York$45.4B 13Bain CapitalBoston$44.3B 14Clearlake Capital GroupSanta Monica$44.0B 15CVC Capital PartnersLuxembourg$41.8B 16Vista Equity PartnersAustin$41.5B 17Clayton, Dubilier & RiceNew York$41.1B 18Hellman & FriedmanSan Francisco$40.9B 19Insight PartnersNew York$40.2B 20Leonard Green & PartnersLos Angeles$39.6B 21Permira AdvisersLondon$34.8B 22CinvenLondon$32.7B 23Brookfield Asset ManagementToronto$31.2B 24Nordic CapitalSaint Helier$31.1B 25Genstar CapitalSan Francisco$29.9B 26Francisco PartnersSan Francisco$28.3B 27Tiger Global ManagementNew York$28.3B 28Blue Owl CapitalNew York$27.2B 29Partners GroupZug$26.7B