Who's Raking In The Most Wealth? A Look At The Generations

The wealth across American generations is a truly staggering thing. Americans collectively own about $143 trillion in net wealth, with the top 1% claiming ownership over about 30% of that total (roughly $43 trillion). Wealth concentration remains significant beyond just the wealthiest in America, with about 87% of American assets owned by the richest 50%. But a top-down look at these figures isn't all that instructive. Those finding themselves down in the lower percentiles have about as much chance of landing on the Moon as they do in suddenly rocketing up the wealth ladder to join the filthy rich. The U.S. economy is designed to enrich the already rich, with equity income representing the greatest source of wealth for those in the top echelons of the financially endowed.

Instead, it's perhaps more illustrative to consider where the wealth lies in terms of generation. Young people today will eventually become older, and seniors in the current atmosphere will someday pass on their assets to loved ones in other generations. It's also worth evaluating wealth in these terms because it can be instructive when executing a plan for retirement. Many Baby Boomers today are enjoying quite well-funded retirements (although certain lifestyle choices and other elements play a major role in any particular individual's financial standing at this juncture). Naturally, this cohort owns the most collective wealth in America, but there's so much more to consider than just this singular fact. Here's how the American landscape stacks up in terms of its financial dispersion.

The crown goes to Baby Boomers, and that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. People in this age group are either enjoying retirement already or are right on the cusp of their exit from the workforce (with the youngest aged at 61). This means that the median age is roughly 70, placing them right in the sweet spot: They've frequently just left the workforce, spending their last few years employed saving diligently for retirement. These individuals are also now drawing Social Security checks, cashing in on pensions (which many in this generation still had expansive access to), and experiencing a plurality of fruits from their labor. Baby Boomers held a net worth per household of nearly $1.65 million near the end of 2022, outpacing the Silent Generation and Gen Xers by a wide gulf.

Those in their 60s enjoy the highest average and median net worth by decade-wide age group ($1,689,144 and $439,050, respectively, according to Nasdaq). Baby boomers also own significantly more real estate than any other generation, accounting for around 38% of American homeowners. In many cases, their homes are also quite large, leaving them to work around a unique problem of considering a downsize in a housing market that's become exceedingly hostile. More troubling, even with a war chest of assets at their side, Baby Boomers are actually exhibiting a startling backslide in which their income (primarily in retirement) isn't keeping pace with the cost of maintaining their lifestyle and essential needs. Sadly, even the wealthiest generation is experiencing financial vulnerability at a growing rate.

Gen Z's oldest are just 28 while the bottom end of the generation's range is still in Middle School. This makes it easy to pinpoint the group with the least collective wealth (although the cohort that's younger again is technically even less wealthy since none of its members are working yet). A steady matriculation into the workforce will change the complexion of this generation's wealth figures, but another benefit that stands ready to kick into action will affect Gen Zers most prominently.

When Baby Boomers eventually sell their homes or die and leave them to their families (over the next 20 years), Gen Z buyers will be most well-positioned to benefit. As an inheritance, Gen Zers will be the most likely group to need a home based on average buyer demographics (the typical first time buyer in America is now 38), making them the prime targets for buying out other beneficiaries. Homes that do hit the open market will also be ideally placed for Gen Zers who will soon begin to enter their 30s right as this trend picks up. The result may yield a higher volume of mortgage debt for this young segment of the American workforce, but the compounding value of homeownership frequently outweighs the negative pressure of this new loan obligation. Home value increases at an annualized rate of about 5.5%, meaning breakeven points on new mortgage loans may be far closer than you'd imagine.

Some conflicting data is out there when it comes to specific wealth figures, liabilities, and other subsections of wealth calculation. But it appears that Gen X finally overtook the collective wealth of the Silent Generation in 2017. Unlike those in younger groups, the Silent Generation never accumulated massive wealth, with a relatively stagnant trend line dating back to 1990, placing the oldest among them at 65 and the youngest still right in the bulk of their working years. In contrast, Baby Boomers and Gen Xers were still accumulating extraordinary wealth during these periods (with Gen Xers hitting this phase of life today).

At the tail end of 2023, Gen X had ballooned its collective wealth to nearly double that of the Silent Generation (nearly $38 trillion compared to $20 trillion). Part of this overtake and divergence boils down to the fact that older Americans are spending their wealth while younger ones are accumulating it. But it's worth noting that the housing crisis in the early 2000s cratered all wealth figures, and only the Silent Generation appears to have not recovered in the nearly two decades since. Only the most robust double threat of a retirement savings strategy and diligent retirement budgeting — coupled with some good luck — will yield a continuously growing net worth. Gen Xers have, on average, focused significant prioritization on retirement saving, with only Baby Boomers holding higher household retirement fund value than them, as of 2022. Even so, there's some cause for concern: Gen X holds nearly as much credit card debt per household as Millennials and close to double the mortgage liability, at a per household rate of almost $150,000.

Millennial wealth is the lowest among groups that have comprehensive data available. Visual Capitalist pegs collective wealth at $13.5 trillion at the end of 2023. Since around 2015 it's been creeping steadily upward, but that ascent has been less vertical than either of its two main companion generations in the workforce. There are plenty of other examples of how the marketplace has been an unkind host to people of this generation, with "crisis after crisis" taking place within their adult lifetimes, (via Fortune). Baby Boomers are eight times as wealthy, collectively than Millennials, those who are 40 today have accumulated 25% less wealth than older generations had at the same age.

The workplace is going through something of a transformation. AI and other automation tools are making jobs less demanding of highly skilled professionals. In part, these changes have made the job market more competitive, allowing companies to pay less as a direct consequence of the relationship between supply and demand. People on the hunt for a new place to work are also dealing with ghost jobs, a general lack of company loyalty toward employees, and more. A difficult job market blended together with a vicious housing market has left Millennials with lots of dreams and relatively few opportunities to turn them into realities. Even so, Millennials are more likely to have earned a college degree than older Americans, and they even graduated high school at a higher rate. Both figures are continuing to climb, and women today are more likely than men to graduate from college, changing the outlook of women in the workforce in a truly meaningful way.

Speaking of outlooks, there's plenty to worry about but lots to find hope in, as well. Wealth has always been concentrated among the richest individuals and families, but modern American has seen a unique shift in this regard. Part of the reason for such enormous wealth among the Baby Boomer generation is the fact that people like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Jim Walton, and Steve Ballmer are all members of its Baby Boomer generation. Plenty of tech-made billionaires find themselves in Generation X, as well.

It's unlikely that a great transfer of wealth is set to radically transform the lives of younger Americans in the near- or long-term future. Even considering the average figures with these billionaires' fortunes figures in, Baby Boomers were likely to have roughly two or three children. This might yield an inheritance of roughly $547,000 for each adult child in a three-child home. With Gen X's average retirement savings hovering around $230,000 in 2022, that's enough to get them closer to the finish line that many have set for themselves, but it won't push past most worker's magic number. That might seem bleak, but the figures showcasing an increased rate of educational attainment and an understanding of how important saving is (even if many aren't saving as much as they should), suggests that Americans are coming to grips with the modern marketplace and figuring out how to make things work for them in whatever way they can.