By 2030, the traditionally poorer American Millennials are likely to have five times the wealth they do today once their Baby Boomer parents start dying and leave their wealth to the younger generation, Newsweek reported.
Author Morley Winograd told Newsweek that a study estimates that American Millennials stand to inherit an estimated $68 trillion from their Baby Boomer parents by 2030, which she described as “one of the greatest” transfers of wealth in the modern era.
On average, the American Baby Boomer generation has twelve times the net worth of Millennials. And according to a recent report by New America, Millennials earn 20 percent less than their parents did when they were that age.
Data from Boston Consulting Group found that as of 2020, the American Baby Boomer generation was estimated to hold $53 trillion of the $431 trillion in private assets held worldwide. And worldwide private assets are expected to increase in the coming years surging to an estimated $65 trillion by 2025, making the worldwide total nearly $500 trillion.
According to Newsweek, when the private assets held by Baby Boomers are passed on to Millennials, the gap in wealth between the two generations might finally be corrected, but it will only exacerbate the wealth inequality overall.
A study by the research and consulting firm Cerulli estimated that the wealth transfer to younger generations, primarily from inheritance, will be about $84.4 trillion by 2045. Of that, Millennials are expected to receive $72.6 trillion with the rest going to charity.
However, some analysts are skeptical that a wealth transfer of that size is in the making, pointing out that a growing number of Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age in debt as the concentration of wealth among those at the very top has increased in recent years.
