I am a proud Baby Boomer—one of the millions of Americans born between 1946 and 1964. I have long been interested in the events and movements that shaped my generation—surviving the Cold War, the Vietnam conflict, and massive social changes involving civic and human rights. We even invented hippies.
That said, every generation is unique, shaped by national and world events and trends occurring during their lifetimes, just as birth order affects children born and raised in the same households.
This Boomer has been massively confused by the alphabet soup of generational monikers that followed mine, including Gen X, Gen Y (aka Millennials), and Gen Z. Behind them come the newest Americans, Generation Alpha or Gen A, whose oldest members are 13, and Generation Beta, Gen B, whose earliest members were born this year. Gens A and B are the first generations not to experience a world without AI.
Just so we know who we are talking about, here is a breakdown of recent American generations.
Baby Boomers, many of the children of World War II veterans who returned to civilian life and created a prosperous economy.
Gen X, born between 1965-1980 and sometimes called the “latchkey” generation, facing shifting social norms and the rise of technology.
Gen Y, or Millennials, born between 1981 and 1994/96, are the first digital generation and are highly connected. They value teamwork and want diversity and meaning in their lives.
Gen Z is considered entrepreneurial and financially conscious.
Gens A and B are still growing up.
The largest generation since the Boomers, the Millennials, complain with considerable justification about the world we Boomers have created and are leaving for them. They will cope with global warming because Boomers did not, political polarization, financial pressures and debt, and they are not happy about any of that.
Millennials, their children, and children’s children likely feel more positive toward a trend already and quietly underway, and which will accelerate as we Boomers go to our rewards—the greatest transfer of wealth in United States history. We are talking big bucks here, somewhere in the neighborhood of $84 trillion—yes, with a T—that Boomers will leave to our heirs between 2021 and 2045.
So, how did Boomers build such wealth, now estimated to be more than half of US household wealth?
First of all, we grew up in a strong and rapidly expanding post-World War II economy. Our parents were able to buy homes and to build financial assets which they left to us, and we continued where they left off. A US tax code that allows individuals to transfer such wealth without estate taxes continues to help build assets. Much of this wealth is in real estate and stocks, both of which have historically done well. Millennials and Gen X are expected to inherit the bulk of these assets, but there will be some left over for the younger sets as well. The ongoing transfer of wealth from generation to generation is expected to continue to widen the existing gap between rich and poor families, with the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans set to receive most of these assets.
All of us see major news events and trends that affect our lives—politics, accidents, armed conflicts, and climate change, among them. The largest transfer of wealth in the history of the United States is well underway and well under most people’s radar screens, even though its impact will touch Americans for generations to come.