Daria Tisch

Dr. Daria Tisch is a Senior Researcher at the Research Group on Wealth and Social Inequality at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne, Germany. She earned her PhD in Sociology (Summa cum laude) from the University of Cologne (2017–2021), following an M.Sc. in Sociology and Empirical Social Research (2014–2017) and a B.A. in Political Science (2011–2014).

• Education
  • PhD in Sociology, University of Cologne (Summa cum laude)
  • M.Sc. Sociology and Empirical Social Research, University of Cologne
  • Minor: Statistics and Econometrics
  • B.A. Governance and Public Policy, University of Passau
  • Erasmus Exchange, Cardiff University

Her research focuses on wealth inequality, gender disparities, and family dynamics, using survey experiments, tax data, and web scraping. She explores how intergenerational transfers and tax systems perpetuate gender wealth gaps and examines the composition of Germany’s superrich through historical rich lists and Wikidata network analysis.

Recent work analyzes the gender tax gap in inheritance and gifts (2023–2024) and the role of family networks in wealth preservation over centuries. She also investigates perceptions of fairness in parental financial gifts and the social implications of joint vs. sole wealth ownership in marriages.

• Scientific Awards
  • ECSR Network Workshop Grant (2020)
  • Dean’s Award (University of Cologne, 2015)
  • Fellow of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (2011–2017)

She supervises PhD students at the Max Planck Institute and has taught courses on wealth inequality, longitudinal data analysis, and research methods at institutions including the University of Cologne and the Max Planck Institute. Her work has been featured in media outlets such as Zeit Online and Merkur.