It would be an understatement to say that there is a lot of anger in the United States these days. While there are many causes for this anger, one factor definitely has to do with the feeling for many that “getting ahead” is a near impossibility. For Americans under the age of 55 this isn’t just a feeling, but a clear pattern in the data. Based on data from the Federal Reserve, when you look at the distribution of assets by age groups, in the second half of 1989, Americans under 40 held 16.2% of all assets, while those 40 to 54 held 33%. Put together, roughly half of assets were held by those under 55. Fast forward to Q1 of this year and Americans under 40 now hold just 8.9% of assets (a 45% drop), and those 40 to 55 hold 21.8% of assets (a drop of 34%). The overall percentage of assets held by those under 55 has dropped to 30.7%.

With the overall holding of wealth steadily dropping, and the costs for everything, especially big ticket items such as cars, housing, education, healthcare etc rising, it is not surprising at all that 40-54 year-olds are feeling squeezed, and those under 40 feeling that the proverbial “American Dream” is out of reach. 

Here are the key takeaways from this week’s charts:

• 🏘️The Golden Years Indeed: The biggest growth in asset holdings has been among Americans over the age of 70. In the late 80’s this age group held 16.8% of assets, today it stands at 29.4%, a 75% growth over the past 36 years. Overall the growth was relatively slow and steady from 1989 to 2008. The Great Recission then started an upward trajectory and during the pandemic Americans over 70 passed those 40 to 54, and became the cohort with the second largest concentration of assets. 
• 💿The 90’s Were A Good Time: It wasn’t just great music and the ability to wear multiple flannels at once, from 1989 to the end of the century, Americans who were 40 to 54 and those who were 55 to 69 were relatively close in terms of the percentage of assets they held. Typically a point or two apart from each other. In Q3 of 2001 this started to change with the concentration of assets held by those 40 to 54 started to drop, while the opposite was happening with those 55 to 69. The lines crossed in Q1 of 2004 and continued to head in opposite directions through 2016. Adding insult to injury, the 40 to 54 age cohort was passed by the 70 plus age group in 2020. 
• 👌OKAY Boomer: There is anger among the younger generations and there is reason for it. When the youngest Boomers were turning 30 (roughly 1990 depending on your exact generation definition) the Boomer generation held 25% of assets. When the youngest GenXer turned 30 the generation held 18% of assets. Currently Millennials hold 13% of assets. It is clearly a different landscape for the younger generations to get ahead.