The Incredible Wealth Gap
The intergenerational wealth gap is big, but it’s nothing compared to the division between the “Haves” and the “Have-nots”
Many people have differing perspectives on what makes life challenging. For Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964), it was the thought of being drafted right out of high school and sent to die in a swamp in Vietnam. For Generation Xers (those born between 1965 and 1980), it was the idea of having to raise their kids and take care of their aging parents, all at the same time. For Millennials (born between 1981 and 1998), considerations of living without any wealth drive them crazy. The idea of being unable to have a “normal life” is what plagues many young adults these days, who wonder what it was like for previous generations as they aged.
An economist named Gray Kimbrough recently calculated the ownership of wealth by generational cohort’s median age — 35 years old — and then compared how much wealth generations owned at that age.
Wealth is what you own, minus what you owe. Houses’ values, minus the mortgages; automobiles minus the auto loans; whatever else you own, minus the debts. In total, wealth is your net worth, and it’s a big deal because it pertains to a family’s sense of security; and a country’s economic strength in the…
