Current Events > Millennials, the lost economic generation? Top 10% are way ahead of boomers.

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/26/wealth-gap-between-millennials-new-class-war.html

While the average millennial has less wealth at the age of 35 than previous generations, the top 10% of millennials have 20% more wealth than the top baby boomers at the same age.

The authors say the top 10% of millennials have benefited from greater rewards for skilled jobs. As they put it, The returns to high-status work trajectories have increased, while the returns to low-status trajectories have stagnated or declined.

The millennials who went to college, found graduate level jobs, and started families relatively late, ended up with higher levels of wealth than Baby Boomers with similar life trajectories, according to the report.

In places like Seattle, San Francisco, New York City, and Washington DC, its far from uncommon to see millennial couples/households, or even singles, making over $500,000/year. Working in technology (Google alone pays that much to new grads), investment banking, and legal are the most common paths to get there.

You either die a hero, or live long enough to become the villain.

What about the other 90%?

iGenesis posted...

even singles, making over $500,000/year. Working in technology (Google alone pays that much to new grads)

Come on now. New grads aren't making 500k in any field short of medical doctors, post-residency.

Millennials are also on track to inherit more money than any generation that has ever existed.

Edit:
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/pittsburgh/news/new-data-millennials-richest-generation-by-2044/

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Millennials could become the richest generation ever by the year 2044.

That's according to The Wealth Report by global property consultant Knight Frank.

The research says that generation is expected to inherit roughly $90 trillion worth of assets over the next 20 years. There is an obvious catch: these millennials have to come from families with healthy financial portfolios.

RetuenOfDevsman posted...

What about the other 90%?

they're broke as shit

YoBlazer posted...

Come on now. New grads aren't making 500k in any field short of medical doctors, post-residency.

Millennials are in their 30s now.

Theyre not new grads

The bigger takeaway in this is that a lot of that wealth the top millennials have, was probably not earned by them, it's inherited - or their parents position and influence allowed them to get ahead where others weren't so lucky.

Your average millennial is almost certainly NOT "way ahead" of where their parents were at the same age, if they're doing better AT ALL.

bigblu89 posted...

Millennials are in their 30s now.

Theyre not new grads

I know, but I'm specifically responding to the claim that Google is paying 500k to "new grads." That's not a common starting salary anywhere, even San Francisco tech.

While the average millennial has less wealth at the age of 35 than previous generations, the top 10% of millennials have 20% more wealth than the top baby boomers at the same age.

The authors say the top 10% of millennials have benefited from greater rewards for skilled jobs. As they put it, The returns to high-status work trajectories have increased, while the returns to low-status trajectories have stagnated or declined.

The millennials who went to college, found graduate level jobs, and started families relatively late, ended up with higher levels of wealth than Baby Boomers with similar life trajectories, according to the report.

Is the claim only 10% of millennials went to college, found graduate level job, and started families late? Millennials are definitely going to college at higher rates than baby boomers and I've seen many reports saying millennials are on average waiting longer to have kids and yet neither of those trends have moved the average in the right way. Those two factors should be way over 10%. It's the middle that's probably limiting, "found a graduate level job." And it's probably not all graduate degrees. We all know teachers forced to get their Masters aren't doing better. We're probably exclusively talking about a Masters/PhD in a STEM career, an MBA, law school, and medical doctors and yeah no shit those would be the groups to do well regardless.

nekrodev posted...

The bigger takeaway in this is that a lot of that wealth the top millennials have, was probably not earned by them, it's inherited - or their parents position and influence allowed them to get ahead where others weren't so lucky.

Your average millennial is almost certainly NOT "way ahead" of where their parents were at the same age, if they're doing better AT ALL.

Yep.

This is just a typical disingenuous iGenesis topic.

Is this adjusted for inflation?

iGenesis posted...

top 10%

this is a pretty important detail you're just glossing over here

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/06f5a7bd.jpg

TC: "the people spending Daddy's money have more money than EVER!"

I do think that the wealth Millennials are expected to inherit over the next couple decades will cause a greater political shift in the generation than anything else. Nothing turns a person into a steadfast Republican vote quite as fast as safeguarding unearned money.

Dumb headlines like these are misleading like the one about all UPS drivers making $100k+

emblem-man posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/06f5a7bd.jpg

Lost Generation a bunch of slackers.

__aCEr__ posted...

Lost Generation a bunch of slackers.

Didn't even start working until their goddamn sixties.

YoBlazer posted...

I do think that the wealth Millennials are expected to inherit over the next couple decades will cause a greater political shift in the generation than anything else. Nothing turns a person into a steadfast Republican vote quite as fast as safeguarding unearned money.

Yep. Many people are going to be passed huge amounts of wealth in the next decade or so.

s0nicfan posted...

Millennials are also on track to inherit more money than any generation that has ever existed.

Edit:
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/pittsburgh/news/new-data-millennials-richest-generation-by-2044/

unless we see an economic collapse or massive recession wouldnt this be the case for every generation?

Wealth continues to be generated and doesnt just go away as much as shifts, so technically every generation has been the wealthiest inheritance, and likely will continue to be going forward.

right?

YoBlazer posted...

I do think that the wealth Millennials are expected to inherit over the next couple decades will cause a greater political shift in the generation than anything else. Nothing turns a person into a steadfast Republican vote quite as fast as safeguarding unearned money.

Nope. There is 0 sign that Millenials are moving to the right.

YoBlazer posted...

I know, but I'm specifically responding to the claim that Google is paying 500k to "new grads." That's not a common starting salary anywhere, even San Francisco tech.

Theyre not being handed out like candy, but they exist. For example, award winners from math & computing olympiads. If Google didnt hire them at that price, hedge funds will.

DrizztLink posted...

TC: "the people spending Daddy's money have more money than EVER!"

The excerpt I quoted directly contradicts that.

Top 10% inherited the wealth from baby boomers tc

emblem-man posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/06f5a7bd.jpg

*adjusted by household
Also, you'd have to trust their inflation numbers which -- considering they think cumulative inflation since 2020 is only like 20% -- I'm not sure you can trust them.

I know this article isnt using New York or Sam Francisco as examples

two of most expensive and inflated cities in the country

What a nothing observation.

Im not surprised. Im a millennial and most of my peers are millennials. None of us are living a Spartan lifestyle. Thats why Im so surprised when people agitate that their parents and/or grandparents generation had it so much better and easier. I know my parents had it a hell of a lot harder than me and my grandparents had it even harder than that by all reports.

We should definitely strive to keep improving quality of life across the board but Im not convinced things arent better than ever for most people in first world countries right now.

DarkAssassin89 posted...

Im not surprised. Im a millennial and most of my peers are millennials. None of us are living a Spartan lifestyle. Thats why Im so surprised when people agitate that their parents and/or grandparents generation had it so much better and easier. I know my parents had it a hell of a lot harder than me and my grandparents had it even harder than that by all reports.

We should definitely strive to keep improving quality of life across the board but Im not convinced things arent better than ever for most people in first world countries right now.

This comes down to a definition of "doing better" or "things were harder". Like, yeah, they may have used outhouses, or didn't have air conditioning, but by the numbers, they were making more money from their jobs, they were more able to own houses, they are more able to handle emergency expenses, etc...

Oh, well at the least the rich ones are doing well.

*biggest eyeroll in the world*

nekrodev posted...

The bigger takeaway in this is that a lot of that wealth the top millennials have, was probably not earned by them, it's inherited - or their parents position and influence allowed them to get ahead where others weren't so lucky.

Your average millennial is almost certainly NOT "way ahead" of where their parents were at the same age, if they're doing better AT ALL.

There is a real gap in the millennial generation. Those of us who were out of college (or would have been, I didn't go) and into our jobs several years before the 08 collapse are doing far better than the ones after that. That group I think is called "Elder Millenials" and were born between 81 and 84. We didn't have the crippling loan debt that those came after us did. Most of the people I graduated with in 2000 took on some debt, but it was in the 10-20k range for their bachelor's.

We got lucky, I had an ok job waiting for me out of HS and my wife (Highschool GF) went to college on a full ride at a State School because of her grades and test scores. So we had essentially no debt past other than my car when we got married in 04. That allowed us to save up money and build a house when the market was it's bottom in 09 and builder's were basically begging people to build with them.

Generally the worst off ones I know are the ones who graduated between 2007 and 2011. Especially the ones who came out of college in that time, saw the market collapsing, and just went "well I'll just stay in school, take out more loans, and get my Masters". Which on paper was probably a good bet, but they accrued so much loan debt that they'll never pay it off.

Even now though, we don't make anywhere near that. In a good year we might clear 80k after taxes between the two of us. We only live as well as we do because we don't have kids. Every millennial I know that has kids is miserable and broke.

2003 account logic/topic. Never fails.

All that's really saying is the wealth gap is getting bigger.

1337toothbrush posted...

*adjusted by household
Also, you'd have to trust their inflation numbers which -- considering they think cumulative inflation since 2020 is only like 20% -- I'm not sure you can trust them.

You mean that other generations had kids, so their income per household would just be smaller?

Krojen posted...

2003 account logic/topic. Never fails.

Huh? What does this mean?

Isn't this obvious? It's just a reflection that wealth inequality has increased dramatically over time.

Boomers hold this L, lmao

DarkAssassin89 posted...

Im not surprised. Im a millennial and most of my peers are millennials. None of us are living a Spartan lifestyle. Thats why Im so surprised when people agitate that their parents and/or grandparents generation had it so much better and easier. I know my parents had it a hell of a lot harder than me and my grandparents had it even harder than that by all reports.

We should definitely strive to keep improving quality of life across the board but Im not convinced things arent better than ever for most people in first world countries right now.

Do you own a house?

ScazarMeltex posted...

We only live as well as we do because we don't have kids. Every millennial I know that has kids is miserable and broke.

So how are you better than your parents? Were they dirt poor or something?

The point is jobs back in the day allowed for people without degrees to afford kids and a house mortgage too.

Income and wealth inequality are just getting worse over time and this stat is indicative of that. Also, what other posters are saying about people who are born poor mostly staying poor is true. I read a report a while back saying there's far less upward mobility in the U.S. today than there used to be, and the most reliable indicator of a child's likely income level in adulthood is their parents' income level.

WingsOfGood posted...

Do you own a house?

I do.

@bigblu89

Millennials are in their 30s now.

Theyre not new grads

Still have Millenials in their 20s.

emblem-man posted...

You mean that other generations had kids, so their income per household would just be smaller?

Well it depends on what they mean by "adjusted by household". There are a couple of things I can think of, but neither are a good thing for the younger generations.

LightningThief posted...

@bigblu89
Still have Millennials in their 20s.

Barely.

Millennials are 1981 1996, so the youngest are 7-8 years removed from graduating college, unless they went for their Masters.

bigblu89 posted...

Barely.

Millennials are 1981 1996, so the youngest are 7-8 years removed from graduating college, unless they went for their Masters.

Whether they're graduates or not isn't really what I was addressing. Just saying the youngest millennials are still in their late 20s.

LightningThief posted...

Whether they're graduates or not isn't really what I was addressing. Just saying the youngest millennials are still in their late 20s.

I know, but my original comment was about how Millennials are "new graduates".

You decided to argue semantics that didn't really have anything to do with the point of my comment, which was that Millennials are pretty far removed from being "new graduates".

bigblu89 posted...

I know, but my original comment was about how Millennials are "new graduates".

You decided to argue semantics that didn't really have anything to do with the point of my comment, which was that Millennials are pretty far removed from being "new graduates".

I was pointing out that many millennials are still in their 20s, which is an age that some still graduate college. So ya, there are "new graduate" millennials out there.

Not everyone can/could devote most of their time to college especially in this economy.