Wow.
{I acknowledge that the population chart is for 2022 and the wealth distribution chart is for 2019}
This means that Boomers, roughly, have double the wealth of the Gen X’ers and Millennials combined, despite being outnumbered 2 to 1. If that doesn’t highlight just how out-of-whack our country’s generational wealth distribution is, then I don’t know what would.
Valid point, but there is so much more to “generational wealth shift” than inheritance and gift giving. I’m thinking on a much broader scale — one that captures the fact that wages have not grown in lock-step with inflation, for example. Who controls wages? Those in charge. By in large, who is currently in charge, and has been in charge for a while now? Boomers. By “in charge,” I’m thinking primarily Influential Government Positions and Owners/Managers/Execs in the workforce; I’m sure it’s all much more complicated than this, but I don’t think I’m wildly off-base here.
It will be interesting to see — as Boomers continue to age and eventually get to a point where they need the assistance of younger generations, just how willing will those younger generations be to help a generation that never really helped them? Or, maybe Boomers will never have this worry, as they can ride into the sunset on the back of all that generational wealth they hoarded over the years …? We shall see, I guess.
It’s happening and it’s happened. The Boomers are the ones inheriting now and the last decade. The next generation will start getting theirs in about a decade and it will continue for the next 20-30 years.
I don’t disagree with you. There are a lot of structural issues to the system, for sure. But the boomers were also the recipients of the wealth that preceded them, and the beneficiaries of many, many years of compounding that will always make the older segment wealthier than the younger.
Is that when wages are going to catch-up, on a relative basis, to wages Boomers enjoyed when they were in the workforce?
and I don’t disagree with you, either. I just don’t think this dynamic explains the entire discrepancy, or anything close to it.
Like I said upthread, “we will see” and “I hope this “generational wealth shift”, if/when it happens, doesn’t happen “too late.”” And I do include the word “if” in that previous sentence because Boomers uniquely seem to have little interest in setting younger generations up for health and prosperity — it’s actually shocking how little Boomers, as a generation, seem to care about the future beyond themselves. And I’m not just talking money. I’m talking health(care), the environment, investment in technologies of the future, human rights, yes – money --, and so much more.
As a child and young adult, I always had the sense that our country was constantly becoming a better place — too slowly, for sure, but at least we were moving in the right direction, and largely on a consistent basis. In my estimation, that’s no longer happening, and I think our country is in for a bevy of rude awakenings. The Boomers are gambling they won’t be around to suffer the pain many of these rude awakenings will bring; Gen X’ers and Millennials? They don’t have that luxury, and won’t be so lucky. … I feel this is getting rrrreaaalllly close to politics, so will leave it at that for now, while I still think I’m on the right side of the No Politics Line.
I’m not sure what those wages are but inflation is dropping and wage inflation is now outpacing it. The passage of time is the most powerful force in the universe. Most people tend to be very shortsighted. I was raised not to be. I never enjoyed those great wages that you speak of. I just work hard, kept my head down, saved and lived within my means. Now at age 60 I look back and wonder how I got here, but the truth is, I know. It wasn’t easy and it took time.
In full disclosure, I did inherit a reasonable sum four years ago. But in further full disclosure, I have not spent any of that money on myself, and have left it invested for my next generation to follow. I didn’t need any of it because I live my life the way my parents taught me and the way I am teaching my children.
Well, “inflation is dropping” is a very Right Now thing — yeah, it’s dropping, but we still have it, and it’s dropping off a high-water mark not seen for many many years. Seems like a short-sighted point, but I won’t dismiss it. Yes, passage of time is one hell of a force – I agree.
You say you “just work hard, kept my head down, saved and lived within my means. Now at age 60 I look back and wonder how I got here, but the truth is, I know. It wasn’t easy and it took time.” – You say that as if the younger generations haven’t worked hard, haven’t saved, and haven’t lived within their means. They have.
We can liken your personal success story to someone getting into Burgundy now. Can one “get into Burgundy now,” and find many excellent wines at affordable prices? I’ve been told the answer to that question is, “Yes.” But does anyone really think the world of Burgundy is accessible now, on a relative basis, as it was years ago? I have to believe the answer to that is, “No.” Similarly, there are plenty of Gen X’ers and Millennials who, for various personal reasons, have managed to enjoy health, wealth, and prosperity in this world. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t concerning, overarching, dynamics and trends in effect, that largely make health/wealth/prosperity less accessible to younger generations than they were to Boomers.
I don’t agree with you, and you built a strawman extrapolating something I didn’t say. I didn’t say the younger generation hasn’t done the same thing. What I Inferred was that patience was needed. Those that are doing what I did Will be rewarded as well. It just takes time.
By the way, can I ask where you live? I wonder if that creates some of your perspective. Your description of selfish boomers not concerned with the environment, human rights, or the next generation does not describe me. It does not describe my siblings. It does not describe MOST of my friends and neighbors out here in California in the community I live in. It does not describe the relatives I have who still are alive, living on the east coast. It does not describe most of the friends I grew up back east with either. Of course, there are always exceptions, but as a blanket statement, it just doesn’t line up with my experience.
BTW most of what I achieved only began building up at age 40. That was the very beginning of it for me
And using burgundy as a metaphor? C’mon that’s about the worst one you could’ve chosen. It’s an extremely limited luxury good
O.K. I misunderstood your inference. The “strawman that I built,” to use your phrase, is a “point” I’ve seen argued by many others in the past; I mistakenly thought you were advancing the same argument, which I now understand you were not. Thanks for clarifying.
And this is why I am always nervous when discussing groups of people; because that which is true of the group is often not true for the individuals in the group, and then those individuals use their personal truth to argue against the validity of the group’s truth. When we are talking about groups the size of the groups we’re discussing here, any individual’s experience is statistically insignificant to the point of being meaningless, relative to the group.
Nonetheless, your question is valid, and thoughtful. I live in Los Angeles.
The analogy works for me. I don’t think Burgundy’s existence as an “extremely limited luxury good” materially bears on my point, but I can and will give plenty of space for a differing opinion on that.
Sorry the analogy didn’t work for you. I don’t claim to be the best at them.
I’m surprised Gen X has half the wealth of Boomers. Gen X should be in the accumulation phase and as long as returns hold up should be in good shape.
When you say “returns” I assume you mean “on investments.”
Are you assuming similar investments between the generations? Asset types? Percentage of income? It seems to me if a subsequent generation has to deal with stagnant wages and increasing costs (decreasing purchasing power) then they cannot invest as readily as prior generations. But who knows, maybe I have this wrong … we will see.
Stagnant wages has been a problem for the true middle class (as opposed to those call themselves middle class). That’s not a new problem, it’s been true for nearly all of the earning years of the boomers. But the true middle class don’t own much of the wealth, not for boomers or subsequent generations. Looking at totals is misleading because it’s skewed by the very wealthy, says relatively little about the lot of most of the population.
When boomers die, where does all of that wealth go? It’s not all going to charity and it doesn’t vanish (although some may go to taxes, but not a large fraction).
-Al
I’ll take all your Grand Cru Burgundy if I’m still around Al 
I’m not planning on leaving the stage any time soon, and I’m busy drinking.
-Al
A bit premature to have this conversation, as it would be purely speculative at this point. Let’s wait until the Boomers move into the column on the “Generational Wealth” chart currently occupied by the Silent Generation. Just as exploding education costs and housing costs are hitting Millennials and younger generations more than they hit Gen X’ers and older, I expect the ever-exploding healthcare costs to become a big(ger) problem for Boomers in the very near future. More generally, let’s wait to see how much wealth Boomers end-up dying with …
Well, 20M boomers have already died, and they are passing at an accelerating rate. Most of the wealth they own as a group is going to end up in their estates (possibly more depending on the economy). The factor you mention (spending on healthcare) is a big issue, but mainly for the vast majority who don’t own much of the wealth.
-Al
Thank you for making this point. I am always frustrated with the assumption that all Boomers are living in the lap of luxury when it would be more useful to factor in the variations between the classes.
I think it is wrong to expect these types of generations to do as well or better than the ones immediately preceding them, even though that expectation has somehow found itself in many writings. I find it more instructive to take a wider lens to the view that, relative to the last several thousand years, most current generations are doing quite well. Of course, that is cold comfort to individuals who may be in dire straits.
Recent generations doing better has been the trend. Unfortunately, past results don’t guarantee future results.