Which U.S. generation holds the most economic power?

That’s the focus of a post by Iman Ghosh for Visual Capitalist. The post is one piece of an in-depth report called the Generational Power Index, which ranks the generations on their economic, political and cultural influence.

They rank the generations’ economic power as follows:

1. Baby Boomers at 43.4%, aged 57-75, with notably 72% of S&P 500 CEOs coming from this generation.
2. Generation X at 26.2%, aged 41-56, with 46% of small business leaders here.
3. The Silent Generation at 17.6%, aged 76 and up, yet holding 32% of billionaire wealth despite making up only 6% of the population.
4. The Millennials at 9.6%, aged 25-40, still coming to power.
5. Generation Z at 3.3%, aged 9-24, still waiting to see what they’ll become.

What’s fascinating about this index is the “what might be” in the future. For instance, with so many capitalists and S&P 500 executives in the Boomer Generation, will their power and influence continue longer than any other generation? Or will the 32% of billionaires in the Silent Generation continue to linger far longer than any of us anticipate?

Perhaps what I find most intriguing is that among Gen X with so many of them small business owners, will they represent the rising tide? And perhaps will they be able to catapult America to greatness in the same way that Bill Gates and Steve Jobs prolonged our country’s position atop global GDP? To be honest, we need them to rise in that way because the younger generations, at present, show sluggish growth in overall household wealth.

As a final note, Boomers hold 53% of all wealth in the country. That percentage is noteworthy because of the overriding wealth transfer issues in this country. That wealth transfer can be used for good, or it can be consumed in disaster.

What are your observations?

Bill High

Bill is CEO & Founder of Vyne Legacy. He works with families to equip them with tools to build multigenerational legacies, and he teaches givers and financial advisers on transformational biblical generosity. He is the co-author with David Green of Giving It All Away and Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously.

Published September 26, 2021

Topics: Culture Commentary | Family Business

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