“I wish it was us!”

Riudarenes“There have always been many rich people here, but there have also always been many donkeys”, says Margarida, daughter of Riudarenes, 79 years old. It is mid-afternoon and she is having a drink with her friend Montserrat, on a bench in the center of this town of just over 2,000 inhabitants. Located between Sils and the capital of the Selva region, Santa Coloma de Farners, Riudarenes has made many headlines these days because, surprisingly, it has positioned itself at the top of the classification of the towns with the highest gross income per capita: it is the first in Catalonia and the second in the State. The news has left the neighbors confused, who are cross: “You mean they weren’t wrong?” asks Eduard, a resident of the town, in disbelief. Xavier, from the Can Cordons restaurant, lets go: “I wish it was us, but unfortunately it’s not going so well for us!”

Every year the Tax Agency publishes data on the average gross per capita income in all towns with more than a thousand inhabitants. To calculate it, it adds up the income from work – the payrolls – and the income from movable capital – bank interests, shares or capital gains – of each person, and divides them by the number of taxpayers (in the case of Riudarenes, 1,017). This means that if one person earns 0 and another earns 1,000, the statistic shows that they both earn 500.

The town in the Selva region is a unique case: in 2018 and 2019 the average income was 34,884 and 33,400 euros per year, respectively, but it was in 2020 when it doubled and reached 67,302 which have placed him at the head of the classification. If the growth is analyzed in detail, the most spectacular jump is made by real estate capital: from 4.5 million euros in 2019 to more than 38 million in 2020.

Several possibilities on the table

At first some reports attributed the increase to the winner of a Bonoloto prize of more than 800,000 euros, but this amount would not explain the meteoric rise in capital income. This money is not counted as income from work, but would only be included in the Tax Agency’s calculation of the profits it would have obtained if it had been invested in some business.

Asked about who could be the lucky one who has raised the average of Riudarenes, its residents present several possibilities. The first: the residents who live in the village of l’Esparra, located on the outskirts of the municipality and surrounded by forest. “Many people from Barcelona live there who have a lot of money. Aznar’s brother lived there years ago, and the singer Albert Pla still lives there”, says Georgina, and her partner, Àlex, adds: “And also the one from Ibercamera, the one from the concerts”. The man refers to Josep Maria Prat i Puig, entrepreneur, artist manager and president of the Camera Group, which includes Agencia Camera, La Filarmónica and Ibercamera – organizers of classical music concerts in Barcelona and Girona.

Another option pointed out by Sergi, who runs a business in the town, are the two owners of ACIN, a company dedicated to the recycling of iron and metals. “Their business is doing very, very well, and during the pandemic they made a lot of money”, he explains. However, neither holder is registered in the municipality and, therefore, their income is not added to the town’s accounts.

The flesh of the golden eggs

But if there is one name that everyone repeats, it is the Batallé family, owners of the meat group founded in 1920 by Pere Batallé. It is one of the few companies that can export its products to China, which, with the swine fever crisis of 2018, soared its demand. And, during 2020, the year of the pandemic, exports did not cease and were among the sectors with the highest turnover. The three Batallé generations are the owners of the conglomerate that includes: Esporc –feed producer–, Selecció Batallé –dedicated to pig genetic improvement–, Carnica Batallé –cutting and processing–, Norfrisa –slaughterhouse–, Reserva Batallé –cured products – and Unexporc, focused on exports.

The newspaper published that the growth of the average of Riudarenes came from the earnings of the shareholders of one of the companies of the group, Càrnica Batallé, which in 2019 distributed 27 million euros, and in 2020, 30 million euros. However, this increase of 3 million in profits would not explain that in one year the income per capita has doubled. That’s why there is another neighbor – who prefers not to say his name – who raises a new possibility.

“During the pandemic, to cope with the increase in demand, they hired or promoted many managerial positions that earn less than 60,000 euros per year. The children and grandchildren of the Batallés, who all work there and live in the village, earn very well. In addition, most of the 400 workers also live here, and he thinks they all work overtime and are well looked after by the company. Between managerial salaries, extra payments and compensation for working during the pandemic, all together would explain the sudden increase”, he says with conviction.