The Great Divide: Boomers Wealth Soars, Youth's Futures Dim
Federal Reserve reports shows Americans aged 55+ hold more than 70% of country’s wealth
Americans who fall into the baby boomer generation are becoming older, wiser and, apparently, wealthier — while younger generations are reportedly falling behind.
"Young persons who haven't had the time to save money and to buy a home, they are not seeing that same kind of increase in wealth. But [for] existing homeowners, it has been an absolute boon for them," The Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni told FOX Business’ Gerri Willis.
According to Federal Reserve data from Q3 2023, Americans over the age of 55 now own 72% of the nation’s wealth, with those above 70 holding 30% of all wealth while seeing the biggest gain over the past year at $3.57 trillion.
The aging population has also grown, with about 2.3 million more people over the age of 70 in the U.S. since 2019.
Comparatively, the younger generations, including Gen X, millennials and Gen Z — all under the age of 55 — have faced stagnant growth, Fed data shows. The 25% of American households age 40 to 54 own just 20% of the nation's wealth, while folks under 40 get under 7%. Together, these two groups are 53.3% of all households, but just 27% of the wealth.
Willis mentioned in her "Varney & Co." report Thursday that the strong stock market and rising housing valuations in the post-COVID era helped older Americans, but they have also had decades to reap the rewards of stock investment and homeownership.
The numbers come as a new FOX poll shows younger voters are gravitating more towards former President Donald Trump over President Biden by 13 points, citing the economy as one of their biggest concerns heading into 2024.
"When you're 28, and you're bringing a girl over for dinner and your mom's there, it's not a great situation, nobody likes that," former Senate Judiciary Committee senior adviser Garrett Ventry also said on "Varney & Co."
"Inflation is tough. Their financial status is tough. Young people are in more credit card debt than ever in terms of retirement. They just have less saved for basic emergencies like medical bills, car repair, those types of things," he continued. "And so you're seeing here a political realignment by President Trump, whether it is young voters coming back to him because of the dissatisfaction of the economy, they like how he handled the economy, mortgage rates are better, inflation was lower."
Noting that while "every voter is different," Ventry argued the economy is a "compounding issue for Biden."
"You're talking about the economy, the inflation, foreign policy, then this potential personal corruption here with the impeachment inquiry," he added, "they pile on [top of] the fact."
Originally published by: Kristen Altus on FOX Business
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