The Great Generational Wealth Transfer

Over the next two decades, an unprecedented amount of assets will flow from older to younger generations, potentially reshaping everything from investment strategies to the ways in which advisors interact with their clients.

Key Takeaways

• An estimated $124 trillion is expected to change hands by 2048.[1]
• Gen X heirs stand to receive the greatest amount over the next 10 years, while Millennials will likely inherit the most of any generation over the next 20 years.[2]
• The Great Wealth Transfer emphasizes the importance of planning for both the giving and receiving generations.

The Great Wealth Transfer Is Coming

By 2048, an estimated $124 trillion may flow from older to younger generations, with approximately $100 trillion moving from the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers to Gen X and Millennial heirs as well as charities.

This massive intergenerational shift in assets will affect the giving and receiving generations differently, underscoring the importance of being prepared and being clear about intentions.

How High-Net-Worth Households Are Driving the Transfer

Approximately $62 trillion—50%—of the total volume of transfers is expected to come from high-net-worth or ultra-high-net-worth households, which together represent only 2% of all households.[4] Moreover, this wealth is compounding. By the end of 2020, nearly two million high-net-worth households (defined in the 2024 Cerulli Report as having a net worth of over $10 million) controlled approximately 45% of total investable assets; in 2010, high-net-worth households accounted for only 27% of total investable assets.

The projected numbers associated with the Great Wealth Transfer have increased from 2022[5] to 2024 in part because older households control an even greater percentage of national wealth—61% as of 2023 compared with 54% just three years earlier. High-net-worth households have kept pace with this trend, funneling 44% of all wealth into just three million households, up from 40% in 2020 and 33% in 2011.[6]

The rise of asset prices is driving up the potential value of inheritances. Earlier projections put the overall transfer amount at $84 trillion in 2020, but market growth and other factors have pushed that number to $124 trillion. Further increasing the projections is the spike in asset prices since the COVID-19 pandemic, with equities growing 27% and real estate 39%.[7]

Intragenerational and Intergenerational Recipients

Initially, a significant portion of the transfer will pass to spouses and domestic partners. Intragenerational transfers are a large part of the overall picture, with some estimates showing that $54 trillion will pass to spouses before passing down to Gen X or Millennial heirs. And an estimated $40 trillion will pass to widowed women.

Intergenerationally, the profile of recipients starts to change. According to data from Merrill Lynch, younger Gen Z and Millennial investors are more confident in their ability to direct their own investments and more open to newer financial vehicles, such as crypto and digital assets, private equity, and direct investments.[8] They may also have different priorities than their parents and grandparents and be more willing to make an impact through alternative investments.

Preparing for Generational Wealth Transfer

Taxes are a significant consideration for every family that plans to pass on substantial assets. One of the keys to a favorable wealth transfer outcome is finding a balance between achieving your goals and optimizing the tax cost of doing so.

Transfer Tax Exemptions and Exclusions

Transfer tax law limits how much you can give to others without incurring a gift, estate, or generation-skipping transfer tax, but there are powerful wealth transfer tools that can help you strategically distribute wealth. These include:

• Lifetime gift exemption—allows you to make gifts up to a certain amount throughout your lifetime without incurring a gift or estate tax at death. For 2026, the exemption amount is $15 million per individual and $30 million per married couple.
• Annual exclusion—can help you gradually transfer wealth without absorbing your lifetime gift and estate exemption as quickly. It is the amount you can give per person, per tax year, before needing to use your gift tax exemption. In 2026, the annual exclusion is $19,000 for individuals and $38,000 for married couples, unchanged from 2025.
• Education and health tax exclusions—payments of qualified education and medical expenses on behalf of someone (not necessarily a relative) may also be excepted from being treated as taxable gifts, meaning they would not reduce your gift tax exemption or annual exclusion.
• Marital deduction—allows you to transfer an unlimited amount of assets to a U.S. citizen spouse, both during your lifetime and at death, without any gift or estate tax consequences.

Trusts

There are many kinds of trusts to consider, but they all serve the same general purpose for wealth transfer: more flexibility and control than outright gifts. Benefits may also include:

• Tax savings
• Consolidated management
• Ease of transfer
• Protection against creditors and spendthrift behavior

For example, grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) can be a tax-efficient strategy for transferring wealth to beneficiaries if you anticipate having an estate valued at more than the federal estate exemption.

Life Insurance

The life insurance death benefit received by beneficiaries is generally exempt from income tax, making it a versatile inherited asset. Who owns the policy affects estate taxation, which is why special trusts are often used. There are many types of life insurance, and you will likely need the help of your advisors to determine which is most helpful for your purposes.

Glenmede Has Been Supporting High-Net-Worth Families Since 1956

For more than 65 years, Glenmede has been helping families shepherd their wealth from one generation to the next. The Great Wealth Transfer underscores the importance of planning—not just for the giving generation but for recipients as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

What generation will inherit the most money?

Members of Gen X, long overshadowed by the much larger Baby Boomer generation, are projected to inherit nearly $1.4 trillion per year over the next decade. However, Millennials may be the longer-term beneficiaries of the Great Wealth Transfer, projected to receive $45.6 trillion over the next 25 years compared with $39 trillion for Gen X.

How significant is the Great Wealth Transfer?

The Great Wealth Transfer is unprecedented, representing the largest transfer of wealth in history. An estimated $124 trillion is set to change hands by 2048.

[1] “The Great Wealth Transfer: Capturing Money in Motion,” The Cerulli Report—U.S. High-Net-Worth and Ultra-High-Net-Worth Markets, 2024, December 5, 2024, https://www.cerulli.com/press-releases/cerulli-anticipates-124-trillion-in-wealth-will-transfer-through-2048.

[2] The Cerulli Report, 2024.

[3] Pew Research Center.

[4] The Cerulli Report, 2024.

[5] “U.S. High-Net-Worth and Ultra-High-Net-Worth Markets 2021: Evolving Wealth Demographics,” The Cerulli Report, 2021.

[6] The Cerulli Report, 2024.

[7] Lichtenberg, Nick, “The $124 trillion Great Wealth Transfer is bigger than ever—and millennials will get the biggest cut,” Fortune, July 23, 2025, https://fortune.com/2025/07/23/great-wealth-transfer-124-trillion-bigger-than-ever-millennials-gen-x/.

[8] “Will the ‘Great Wealth Transfer’ transform the markets?” Merrill Lynch, https://www.ml.com/articles/great-wealth-transfer-impact.html.