Wealthiest Generation: Baby Boomers Baby boomers — people born between 1946 and 1964 — win the top spot for the wealthiest generation in the U.S. In aggregate, their total net worth is $82.40 trillion, according to the Fed data.
Baby Boomers rank as the wealthiest generation in history. Boomers represent just 20% of the population, but their share of U.S. household wealth peaked at 53% in 2021 before slipping to about 51% as of the end of 2024.
Gen Z: The largest and richest generation by ~2035
In roughly the next five years, Gen Z will have globally amassed $36 trillion in income and that figure is expected to surge to $74 trillion by around 2040.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that boomers are by far Britain's wealthiest cohort, having benefitted from surging house prices and gold-plated defined benefit pensions.
Baby boomers have the highest household net worth of any US generation. Defined by the Federal Reserve as being born between 1946 and 1964 (currently in the ages between 59 and 77), baby boomers are in often in the sunset of their career or early into retirement.
“It's every single category that has gone up,” Weller said. “That is home equity, retirement savings, equity in privately held businesses – all of that has grown faster” than for older generations, he said. “Homeownership has risen faster; wages have grown faster.” Millennial wealth is a Cinderella story.
The wealthiest households were those where the household head was around state pension age, retired, or owned their property outright. Median household wealth was 33 times higher among households with a head aged 65 to 74 years, compared with households in which the head was aged 16 to 24 years.
Still, while Gen X will receive the greatest short-term windfall, millennials stand to inherit more overall in the longer term, with roughly $39 trillion flowing to Gen X and $45.6 trillion flowing to the younger cohort over the next 25 years cumulatively.
Born between 1981 and 1996, Millennials recently surpassed Baby Boomers as the biggest group, and they will continue to be a major part of the population for many years.
The members of Generation Z, the oldest of which are now in their 20s, on average are expected to live to 100 and beyond. Health technology may or may not eventually lift Gen Zers well past that. They could be the generation that collectively hits the biological ceiling.
They are constantly connected to others through technology, frequently on the go, and extremely tech-savvy. As a result, Gen Z is often lauded for being entrepreneurial, innovative, and open-minded.
As well, Sweeney states that "There are research findings showing that Millennials get higher scores on both SAT exams and standard IQ tests"(169) while Tapscott notes that they may bethe "smartest generation ever"(30). Prensky and others also believe that the technical abilities of Millennials are remarkable.
Generally speaking, the Greatest Generation are the parents of the "baby boomers" and are the children of the "Lost Generation" (those who grew up or came of age during World War I). They preceded what is known as the "Silent Generation," a cohort born between the mid-1920s and the early-to-mid 1940s.
The question of who had it toughest depends on what we value most. If homeownership and traditional wealth accumulation matter most, Baby Boomers and Gen X clearly had advantages. If technological access and economic stability are priorities, Gen Y and Gen Z have benefits their predecessors couldn't imagine.
Schiff agrees, stating that, “[Gen X parents] support their children's individualism and making their own choices. They encourage their children to be more independent and try new things.” However, Dr. Schiff notes that their helicopter parenting style leads them to be highly protective.
Households with an Indian, Pakistani or White British head had the highest net property wealth (medians of £176,000, £115,000 and £115,000 respectively) and were the most likely of all ethnic groups to hold net property wealth, with 80% (Indian head), 73% (Pakistani) and 69% (White British) of households having net ...
Is 100k in savings a lot in the UK? Yes, it is. The worry is that while 100k might be safe in a savings account, it won't earn a lot of interest – not as much as it might if you were to invest it. Inflation could significantly lower your money's real spending power when held in a savings account over time.
How much savings should you have at 40? The average savings by age 40 should be £124,911 or the equivalent of three times the amount of your pre-retirement income.
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. They are 10 times wealthier than millennials, and twice as wealthy than Gen X.
We're talking about Generation Alpha, the children of Generation Y, and often the younger siblings of Generation Z. Simply put, Generation Alpha are defined as those born from 2010-2024. More than 2.8 million are born globally every week.
As the first generation to grow up with the Internet, millennials have been described as the first global generation. The generation is generally marked by elevated usage of and familiarity with the Internet, mobile devices, social media, and technology in general.
