How Many 'Upper-Class' Millennials Owe Part Of Their Net Worth To Inheritance?

The upper class is a community marked by unique economic opportunity. Financial status can be defined by all kinds of metrics, and numerous signs can point to probable upper-class standing. A high household salary, a lack of revolving credit repayment obligations, and a notable amount of free time are all common among this cohort. However, family wealth is another consideration. It's common to assume that wealthy people in younger generations began life with a silver spoon, but the reality is actually notably different. Even as Citizens Bank found in 2024 that 55% of millennials expect to come into some monetary inheritance within five years of when the survey was conducted, other studies suggest that lived experiences may run somewhat counter to this prediction. In a 2024 study, Worth surveyed wealthy millennials about where they get their money. The publication states that participants had household incomes above $250,000 — or $350,000 in high-cost locations — a household net worth over $1 million, or both. Despite expectations to the contrary, only 28% of millennials in this economic stratum attribute at least some of their affluence to inheritance.

According to the Federal Reserve's 2020 data, the average inheritance among American households is $46,200. The ultra-wealthy skew these figures significantly, as the bottom 50% of households average an inheritance of just under $10,000 and expect to receive roughly three times that figure. All this suggests that there is no basic framework for transferring wealth from one generation to the next.

It's undeniable that a strong foundation is frequently crucial for young people seeking to break into the upper echelons of economic life. While Worth found that wealthy millennials are about as likely to cite inheritance as a part of their financial success story as Gen Xers, the publication also found that 39% of boomers claim inheritance makes up a chunk of their net worth. That's an important distinction, as millennials are largely the children of those in the baby boomer generation. While they haven't yet received substantial volumes of transferred wealth, 43% say they grew up in an upper-income household. The financial wellbeing of parents has therefore played a key role for nearly half of wealthy millennials, even if it's not formatted as direct inheritance.

It may be for this reason that upper-class millennials also source their wealth from a broad range of financial tools. The vast majority of people in this age group invest heavily, and much of this cohort also demonstrates numerous, specialized spending habits that set them up to succeed. Many complete college degrees, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics finds that the median wages of someone with a bachelor's degree are roughly 66% higher than those of high school graduates who opted not to further their educations. Property ownership and entrepreneurial endeavors are also common pursuits for wealthy millennials, both of which can play an essential role in an individual's income and net worth.