Baby boomers are sitting on a mountain of wealth unlike anything younger Americans have seen.
Between 1983 and 2022, Americans over 75 saw their household wealth soar, while people 65 and older now hold more than double the average wealth of those under 65, according to new research from New York University. They also enjoy a homeownership rate nearly 17 percentage points higher than younger adults.
All told, boomers have amassed a staggering $82 trillion in net worth, more than twice that of Gen X ($42 trillion) and four times Millennials ($16 trillion), Investopedia reports. Their grip on Wall Street only cements the gap. Federal Reserve data shows boomers hold more than half of all U.S. stocks, worth more than $25 trillion, while Millennials control just 8.2 percent, or about $3.9 trillion.
Perfect Timing
Experts say timing is everything. Boomers bought homes when prices were low and wages were steady. That created a powerful wealth engine that younger Americans simply haven’t been able to replicate, experts told Newsweek.
“A lot of it is housing—a subsidized asset that appreciated massively over the period in which Boomers were settling down,” Rita McGrath, a professor at Columbia Business School, told Newsweek.
Housing wasn’t just an investment. For many middle-class families, homeownership acted like a “forced savings account,” building equity over decades, J. Michael Fischer Jr, managing director at DBD Investment Bank, told Newsweek.
“Boomers did not only invest at cheaper rates but also endured decades of appreciation,” when it comes to housing, he said. “At the same time, investment in the stock market has increased, and even modestly exposed investors collected a record bull cycle. However, younger cohorts have more unsubordinated debt and most of them lost out on that extended compounding period because they were not yet employed or lacked other funds to invest.
“Young adults today are entering the markets from a fundamentally different place: housing affordability is at all time lows, levels of student debt are incredibly high, and wage increases have not been keeping step with asset inflation.”
A Different Rule Book
Today’s younger adults face roadblocks their parents didn’t. Homeownership is increasingly out of reach. Student loan balances are higher than ever. And fewer workers have access to pensions or long-term employer-sponsored retirement plans.
“Boomers benefited from a multidecade bull market in both housing and equities,” Jake Falcon, founder and CEO of Falcon Wealth Advisors, told Newsweek. “Younger adults today face inflated housing prices, higher student debt burdens, and more volatile job markets, making it harder to accumulate wealth early.”
Many millennials and Gen Z workers also entered the labor force too late to ride the bull market that boosted their parents’ retirement accounts. And with gig work and contract jobs on the rise, younger workers often lack the steady benefits that earlier generations could rely on.
Why the Gap Matters
The growing wealth divide isn’t just about numbers on a balance sheet. Experts warn it threatens America’s promise of upward mobility, the idea that each generation should do better than the last.
“The concentration of wealth among older Americans risks creating a bottleneck in economic mobility,” Falcon said. “If younger generations cannot access the same wealth-building tools, we may see reduced consumer spending, delayed family formation, and increased reliance on social safety nets. This could strain public resources and deepen generational divides.”
“A lot of people bought into the idea that if you worked hard and played by the rules that you would be rewarded in this economy,” McGrath said. “Many are angry and disillusioned and think the game is rigged.”
Fischer sees a similar danger. “A growing wealth gap diminishes economic mobility,” he said. “If young families are locked out of homeownership or cannot envision a way to build equity in a home, it erodes faith in the system and stokes social anger.”
Will Inheritance Save Younger Generations?
Wealth transfer may eventually level the playing field as Boomers pass their assets down to their children. But experts say it won’t be a cure-all.
“It might narrow the gap for some, but with estate taxes limiting how much can be passed along, it isn’t a structural solution,” McGrath said.”It isn’t a structural solution to the lack of fairness and opportunity we see in the economy.
“Besides, if you have the kind of family where an inheritance might be the solution to a lack of wealth or opportunity, there is a high probability that those estates would already be passed along by gifting, trusts, and many other ways one generation can transfer their wealth to their offspring in their lifetimes.”
As well as this, with life expectancies creeping upward, the transfer of wealth is being delayed.
“Many Boomers are living longer and healthier, so money may not be transferred until children are well into their midyears,” Fischer said. “By that time, most of the best years of wealth creation are already lost.”
The Road Ahead
The numbers are clear: Boomers benefited from conditions that made wealth-building easier, while younger generations face steeper challenges. That means the gap will not close on its own.
“Boomers played by another rule book and game,” Fischer said. “Younger adults have headwinds that demand different approaches, but without policy action on housing affordability, debt, and incentives to save and invest, the gap is not going to magically close.”