Baby boomers have now ‘gobbled up’ nearly one-third of America’s wealth share, and they’re leaving Gen Z and millennials behind

Older Americans may be trading in hustling for retirement, but that hasn’t stopped them from getting richer.

Baby boomers now hold a record high of the United States’ wealth, Apollo chief economist Torsten Slok noted in a December blog post, citing Federal Reserve data. Compared to 1989, when those over 70 years old held 19% of the wealth in the household sector, older Americans now own 31% of the wealth.

That chunk of change is an outsize share compared to other generations. Baby boomers, who make up about 20% of the U.S. population, hold more than $85 trillion in assets, according to Fed data. By comparison, millennials, who make up about the same percentage of Americans, hold just about $18 trillion, roughly one-fifth that of baby boomers. 

Older Americans’ financial success is in especially stark comparison to that of Gen Z, a generation with deep skepticism about the economic future, who feel shut out from entry-level jobs amid the rise of AI, with many sinking into credit card debt as they struggle to repay student loans. As of 2024, the young generation had only $6 trillion in wealth, despite making up the same percentage of the population as their baby boomer and millennial counterparts.

“The baby [boomer] generation has really gobbled up a huge share of household wealth, so it’s left a lot less for other age cohorts,” Edward Wolff, professor of economics at New York University, told Fortune.

How did baby boomers benefit from good economic timing?

America’s septuagenarians were raised by parents who came of age during the Great Depression and learned the hard way the lessons of frugality and the........

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