Millennials stand to become the richest generation in history, after $90 trillion wealth transfer | CNN Business (2024)

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Millennials stand to become the richest generation in history, after $90 trillion wealth transfer | CNN Business? ›

Millennials are set to inherit as much as $90 trillion in assets before 2044, a new report shows. Many millennials are currently grasping in frustration at long-held American Dreams like homeownership, a steady job and an affordable cost of living.

The report estimated that over the next couple of decades, about $90 trillion worth of assets will move from older generations, mainly baby boomers, to millennials.

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Millennials could become the richest generation ever by the year 2044. That's according to The Wealth Report by global property consultant Knight Frank. The research says that generation is expected to inherit roughly $90 trillion worth of assets over the next 20 years.

Knight Frank's 2024 Wealth Report found that, over the next 20 years, $90 trillion in assets will be transferred between generations in the US alone. This means that millennials are expected to be five times richer in 2030 as the assets begin to change hands.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, 51.8 percent of the total wealth in the United States was owned by members of the baby boomer generation.

By 2030, millennials will hold five times as much wealth as they have today — and are “expected to inherit more than $68 trillion from their predecessors in the Great Transfer of Wealth” — according to a Coldwell Banker report.

The current wealth gap in America is $54.77 trillion. According to Bloomberg, millennials only hold 4.6 percent of the wealth in America. The amount is $5.19 trillion. In juxtaposition, boomers hold 53.2 percent, or $59.96 trillion.

There may be another factor creating so much wealth among millennials: inheritances. In what's known as “the great wealth transfer,” baby boomers are expected to pass down between $70 trillion and $90 trillion in wealth over the next 20 years. Much of that is expected to go to their millennial children.

High-earning millennials (think tech workers) have been able to accumulate unprecedented wealth due to their skills, according to the report. “The returns to high-status work trajectories have increased, while the returns to low-status trajectories have stagnated or declined,” the researchers write.

What is the top 1% of millennials? ›

When Millennials Make the 1% Mark — For Their Age Group. Consider that millennials are toward the younger end of earners, which plays a role in where they fall on the net worth continuum. “They hit the top 25% at around $50,000 and the top 1% at about $175,000,” Jennings said.

Here are some of their key findings: Wealth: Millennials at the 90th percentile of wealth distribution in the U.S. possessed about 20% more wealth than boomers did at 35 ($457,000 vs. $373,000). However, the median millennial had 30% lower wealth than the median boomer at that age ($48,000 vs.

By age 35, 62% of boomers owned homes, while 49% of millennials were homeowners. Around 14% of millennials had negative net worth, compared to 8.7% of baby boomers. About 63% of low-skilled service workers who identified as boomers owned their own home at 35, compared with 42% of millennials in the same occupations.

Millennials, the richest generation in history, are expected to inherit around $90 trillion in assets over the next 20 years, but only if they already come from wealthy households, which might further exacerbate wealth inequality, according to CNN.

Millennial and generation X cohorts are likely to face the highest working-age poverty rates to date, with almost a quarter of the 1991-95 cohort expected to be in relative poverty in their late 20s.

How much money is considered generational wealth? For any amount of wealth to be considered generational wealth, it simply has to be passed down by at least one generation; however, there is no definitive number that constitutes generational wealth because wealth is relative.

For any amount of wealth to be considered generational wealth, it simply has to be passed down by at least one generation; however, there is no definitive number that constitutes generational wealth because wealth is relative. The amount of passed-down family wealth all depends on the recipients and how it is used.

U.S. wealth distribution 1990-2023, by generation

In comparison, millennials own around 9.2 percent of total wealth in the U.S. In terms of population distribution, there is almost an equal share of millennials and baby boomers in the United States.

When looking at baby boomers—currently aged 59 to 78—the researchers found economic outcomes a bit more mixed. While it's true the average millennial has 30% less wealth at age 35 than boomers at the same age, the richest 10% of millennials have 20% more wealth than the richest boomers did.

Sixty% of wealth transfers are lost by the second generation, and 90% by the third. Only 10% of wealth passes beyond the third generation. The overall financial environment, income tax regulations, and estate tax laws fluctuate dramatically over a three-generation time-span.