The southern plantation states held the greatest concentration of wealth in the United States at the inception of the War Between The states.
You mean paper? The Union states had Factories, Ship building industries, Massive trade with Europe, Railroads, Iron, gold and Silver mines, Manufacturing of every sort. They were a much more massive economy.
Not only did they have more than four times the population, they had far more valuable properties and institutions.
The Southern states had mostly agriculture, and d@mned little else.