$31,000,000,000,000 to be passed down by 2033 in great wealth transfer – but millennials and gen z will have to wait longer to b

A new report finds that Generation X is about to receive its cut of an unprecedented generational transfer of wealth.

Gen X, or those born between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s, are set to inherit roughly $31 trillion in wealth from their predecessors by 2033, according to a report from people intelligence think tank Altrata.

Altrata its data shows 87% of the people who will transfer their wealth are very high net worth (VHNW) individuals, or those with a net worth between $5 and $30 million.

First to receive their money is Gen X, contrary to Millenials and Generation Z who will mostly be receiving inheritances from their grandparents.

Altrata finds that corporate executives will make up more than 70% of all the ultra-wealthy individuals who will be passing on their money over the next decade, while entrepreneurs will comprise 20% and 7% will be sole inheritors, or people who are only wealthy because they inherited substantial wealth.

“Wealth transfers are increasingly taking place during the lifetime of the head of a family rather than solely upon their death, driven by practical reasons like tax planning and the desire to prepare heirs for future financial stewardship.

This shift, coupled with rising global wealth and younger generations’ differing values, underpins the need for families to align on succession plans early. It also reveals new opportunities for organizations that advise, prospect for, and engage with the wealthy.”

In its Global Wealth Management Industry Report, Big 4 accounting giant Ernst & Young (EY) estimates baby boomers will hand down up to $3 trillion in assets to their kin this year.

EY expects the “tidal wave” of wealth transfer from baby boomers to their families to continue until the dawn of a new decade.

“It can be estimated that US$2 trillion – $3 trillion will be inherited from wealthy donors during 2024; in many markets, tens or even hundreds of billions [of dollars] will change hands this year. In 2023, more billionaires were created by inheritance than by entrepreneurship.

The inheritance of baby boomers’ wealth is not only the largest transfer of assets in world history; it will also have a transformative effect on female and next-generation inheritors. Wealthy donors will pass a staggering US$18 trillion, roughly equivalent to the annual GDP of China, to beneficiaries by 2030.”