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The Greatest Wealth Transfer in History Is Here, With Familiar (Rich) Winners
In an era of surging home and stock values, U.S. family wealth has soared. The trillions of dollars going to heirs will largely reinforce inequality.
Generation X and Millennial Households Are Expected to Inherit the Most Over the Next 25 Years
Annual wealth projected to be
inherited by each generation
$2.5
trillion
Generation X
Millennials
2.0
1.5
1.0
Members of Generation X near retirement and gradually inherit less from older generations.
0.5
0
2025
’30
’35
’40
’45
2025
’30
’35
’40
’45
$1.0
trillion
Generation Z
and younger
Baby Boomers
0.5
0
2025
’30
’35
’40
’45
2025
’30
’35
’40
’45
Annual wealth projected to be
inherited by each generation
$2.5
trillion
2.0
Millennials
Generation X
1.5
Members of Generation X near retirement and gradually inherit less from older generations.
1.0
0.5
0
2025
’30
’35
’40
’45
2025
’30
’35
’40
’45
$1.0
trillion
Generation Z
and younger
Baby Boomers
0.5
0
2025
’30
’35
’40
’45
2025
’30
’35
’40
’45
An intergenerational transfer of wealth is in motion in America — and it will dwarf any of the past.
Of the 73 million baby boomers, the youngest are turning 60. The oldest boomers are nearing 80. Born in midcentury as U.S. birthrates surged in tandem with an enormous leap in prosperity after the Depression and World War II, boomers are now beginning to die in larger numbers, along with Americans over 80.
Most will leave behind thousands of dollars, a home or not much at all. Others are leaving their heirs hundreds of thousands, or millions, or billions of dollars in various assets.
In 1989, total family wealth in the United States was about $38 trillion, adjusted for inflation. By 2022, that wealth had more than tripled, reaching $140 trillion. Of the $84 trillion projected to be passed down from older Americans to millennial and Gen X heirs through 2045, $16 trillion will be transferred within the next decade.
Baby Boomers Hold Half of the Nation’s $140 Trillion in Wealth
Baby Boomers Hold Half of the Nation’s $140 Trillion in Wealth
Baby Boomers
Born 1946-64
$78.3 trillion
in assets
Pensions $16.1 tril.
Equities $19.1 tril.
Private
businesses
$7.4 tril.
Durable
assets $3.0 tril.
Other assets
$13.9 tril.
Real estate $18.9 tril.
Real estate
$4.7 tril.
Equities
$5.3 tril.
Generation X
Born 1965-80
$47.8 trillion
Silent
Generation
Born before 1946
$18.1 trillion
Real estate $14.4 tril.
Pensions
$2.0 tril.
Private
businesses
Other assets
$4.1 tril.
Private businesses
$6.8 tril.
Millennials
Pensions $9.4 tril.
Born after 1980
$14.2 trillion
Other assets
$2.2 tril.
Private
businesses
Real estate
$5.5 tril.
Other assets
$5.9 tril.
Equities
$0.8 tril.
Durable
assets
$1.6 tril.
Durable assets
$2.4 tril.
Pensions
$2.5 tril.
Equities $8.8 tril.
Baby Boomers
Born 1946-64
$78.3 trillion
in assets
Pensions $16.1 tril.
Equities $19.1 tril.
Private
businesses
$7.4 tril.
Durable
assets $3.0 tril.
Other assets $13.9 tril.
Real estate $18.9 tril.
Silent
Generation
Generation X
Born 1965-80
$47.8 trillion
Born before 1946
$18.1 trillion
Real estate
$4.7 tril.
Real estate $14.4 tril.
Equities $5.3 tril.
Durable assets $0.7 tril.
Pensions
$2.0 tril.
Private
businesses
$1.4 tril.
Other assets
$4.1 tril.
Private businesses $6.8 tril.
Millennials
Pensions $9.4 tril.
Born after 1980
$14.2 trillion
Other assets
$2.2 tril.
Private
businesses
$1.6 tril.
Real estate $5.5 tril.
Equities
$0.8 tril.
Other assets $5.9 tril.
Durable
assets
$1.6 tril.
Durable assets $2.4 tril.
Equities $8.8 tril.
Pensions $2.5 tril.
Generation X
Baby Boomers
Born 1965-80
$47.8 trillion
Born 1946-64
$78.3 trillion
in assets
Pensions $9.4 tril.
Equities $8.8 tril.
Equities $19.1 tril.
Real estate $18.9 tril.
Durable
assets
$2.4 tril.
Real estate $14.4 tril.
Private businesses $6.8 tril.
Other assets $5.9 tril.
Silent Generation
Millennials
Born before 1946
$18.1 trillion
Born after 1980
$14.2 trillion
Other assets $13.9 tril.
Other assets $4.1 tril.
Pensions
$2.5 tril.
Equities $5.3 tril.
Real estate $5.5 tril.
Durable
assets
$1.6 tril.
Private
businesses
$1.4 tril.
Pensions
$2.0 tril.
Private
businesses
$1.6 tril.
Durable
assets $3.0 tril.
Other assets
$2.2 tril.
Equities
$0.8 tril.
Pensions $16.1 tril.
Private businesses $7.4 tril.
Real estate $4.7 tril.
Durable assets $0.7 tril.
Heirs increasingly don’t need to wait for the passing of elders to directly benefit from family money, a result of the bursting popularity of “giving while living” — including property purchases, repeated tax-free cash transfers of estate money, and more — providing millions a head start.
The Top 10 Percent of Households Hold a Majority of the Wealth
In the United States, the Top 10 Percent of Households Hold a Majority of the Wealth
$150
trillion
Total wealth by percentile
125
100
Top 10
percent
75
Top 1%
50
90th to 99th
25
50th to 90th
Bottom
half
Bottom 50th
0
1990
’95
2000
’05
’10
’15
’20
$150
trillion
Total wealth by percentile
125
100
Top 10
percent
75
Top 1%
50
90th to 99th
25
50th to 90th
Bottom
half
Bottom 50th
0
1990
’95
2000
’05
’10
’15
’20
White Households Hold a Disproportionate Share of the Wealth
White Households Hold a Disproportionate Share of the Wealth
$150
trillion
Total wealth by race
125
100
75
White
50
25
Other
Black
Hispanic
’90
’95
’00
’05
’10
’15
’20
$150
trillion
Total wealth by race
125
100
75
White
50
25
Other
Black
0
Hispanic
1990
’95
2000
’05
’10
’15
’20
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