Sounds exactly like the circumstances I faced at 25 years old in 1979 when interest rates soared to 17%. Back then we didn't attack my grandparents for the financial difficulties we faced.
I have more assets than my parents. So no real inheritance from them. However, my children should have a decent inheritance when they shove me in the ground. There will be quite an impressive wealth transfer starting now and for the next 30 years or so.
This senior didn't make no 37% in three years. This is ridiculous as you are talking about a small percent of seniors who already have money. For the most part the young don't have accumulated capital to invest...it was the same for most seniors when they were young. Percentages are meaningless unless you know the base that is used to calculate them.
For every senior, or anyone for that matter, the base will be different. Some have $5,000 and some have $500K or $5 million. 37% of those figures tell a distinctly different outcome.
Just go to Walmart, Kroger, McDonald, etc., and see the percentage of grandparents working alongside of their grandchildren.
"The top 10% of boomer households hold ~71% of the generation's total wealth (Pew Research, based on the Fed's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances).
The bottom 50% of boomer households hold only roughly 2–5% of that wealth.
At the very top, the top 1% of boomers accounts for about one-third of the generation's net wealth.
So while boomers as a group hold ~52% of all U.S. household wealth, that's really the story of a small slice of boomers — the wealthiest 10% — sitting on the vast majority of it. The median boomer household has a net worth closer to $432,000, far below the ~$1.6 million average, which is pulled up by that top tail. "
Why averages don't tell the truth:
There is a bar next to a homeless shelter. The average wealth of the 100 people in the bar is $20,000. Then Elon Musk walks in. Suddenly everyone in the bar is a multi-millionaire (on average).
The top 10% of millennials hold ~69–70% of the generation's total wealth (Inequality.org, based on Fed SCF data).
The bottom 50% of millennial households hold less than 2% of generational wealth.
Inequality.org calls millennials the "most unequal generation" in the U.S., noting the top-10% share rose from 61% among boomers to 69% among millennials.
The irony: while the average millennial has ~30% less wealth at age 35 than boomers did at that age, the top 10% of millennials actually have ~20% more wealth than the top boomers did at the same age. So the generation's total wealth pie is smaller, but the slice going to the top is proportionally even bigger.
The top 10% of Gen X households hold roughly 64–66% of the generation's total wealth. The Inequality.org analysis (based on Fed SCF data) shows a clear upward trend: 61% among Boomers → ~65% for Gen X → 69% for Millennials, with each successive cohort becoming more internally unequal.
The bottom 50% of Gen X households hold only a few percent of generational wealth — their median net worth is around $73,000 (per the same SCF data), far below the generational average.
One striking stat: Gen X makes up 57% of the top 10% of all U.S. households by net worth (CNBC, Nov 2025), because they're in their peak earning years while many Boomers are already retired.
So the pattern across all three generations is consistent: roughly two-thirds of each generation's wealth sits in the top 10%, with the share creeping up slightly for each younger cohort. The World Inequality Lab (2024) confirms within-cohort inequality is now at its post-WWII peak."
No doubt there is a lot in this article that is spot on, but it is more complex. I am a senior who experienced near zero interest rates for 10 years or more. For those who were in the market during that time their wealth increased as the corporate world had extremely low borrowing rates. As someone who has no desire to be wealthy I choose not to be in the market. Wealth doesn't bring happiness. My goal was to live within my means without major worries. Paid the mortgage off so my retirement wasn't burdened. Kept my car 10 years or more. My wife and I were raised in a time when people actually cooked real food. My mother in law was frugal and lived off her CD interest and a very small Social Security check. At the end of her life zero interest forced her to use her lifelong savings. It is a complex world for many old and the young to navigate. Although, I have great sympathy for the young many make choices that many seniors wouldn't. Expensive cellphones, expensive cell and internet plans, fast food, tattoos, and the list goes on. The Elite have a plan. It is fewer people and 15 minute cities where the population lives in high rises and do not own a car. A one party Government where control is the goal.
You wrote, "There’s a budding civil war on mainstream news trying to set the young against seniors."
Respectfully, the fires were stoked by anyone simply reading your title "Seniors Get Rich, the Young go broke." I appreciate your conclusions in the last 3rd of your article, but would prefer a less salacious introduction.
Not all criticism. All sides need to be aired and your article does a good job at doing that. Thank you.
Sounds exactly like the circumstances I faced at 25 years old in 1979 when interest rates soared to 17%. Back then we didn't attack my grandparents for the financial difficulties we faced.
I have more assets than my parents. So no real inheritance from them. However, my children should have a decent inheritance when they shove me in the ground. There will be quite an impressive wealth transfer starting now and for the next 30 years or so.
This senior didn't make no 37% in three years. This is ridiculous as you are talking about a small percent of seniors who already have money. For the most part the young don't have accumulated capital to invest...it was the same for most seniors when they were young. Percentages are meaningless unless you know the base that is used to calculate them.
For every senior, or anyone for that matter, the base will be different. Some have $5,000 and some have $500K or $5 million. 37% of those figures tell a distinctly different outcome.
Boomers own homes.
Just go to Walmart, Kroger, McDonald, etc., and see the percentage of grandparents working alongside of their grandchildren.
"The top 10% of boomer households hold ~71% of the generation's total wealth (Pew Research, based on the Fed's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances).
The bottom 50% of boomer households hold only roughly 2–5% of that wealth.
At the very top, the top 1% of boomers accounts for about one-third of the generation's net wealth.
So while boomers as a group hold ~52% of all U.S. household wealth, that's really the story of a small slice of boomers — the wealthiest 10% — sitting on the vast majority of it. The median boomer household has a net worth closer to $432,000, far below the ~$1.6 million average, which is pulled up by that top tail. "
Why averages don't tell the truth:
There is a bar next to a homeless shelter. The average wealth of the 100 people in the bar is $20,000. Then Elon Musk walks in. Suddenly everyone in the bar is a multi-millionaire (on average).
The top 10% of millennials hold ~69–70% of the generation's total wealth (Inequality.org, based on Fed SCF data).
The bottom 50% of millennial households hold less than 2% of generational wealth.
Inequality.org calls millennials the "most unequal generation" in the U.S., noting the top-10% share rose from 61% among boomers to 69% among millennials.
The irony: while the average millennial has ~30% less wealth at age 35 than boomers did at that age, the top 10% of millennials actually have ~20% more wealth than the top boomers did at the same age. So the generation's total wealth pie is smaller, but the slice going to the top is proportionally even bigger.
The top 10% of Gen X households hold roughly 64–66% of the generation's total wealth. The Inequality.org analysis (based on Fed SCF data) shows a clear upward trend: 61% among Boomers → ~65% for Gen X → 69% for Millennials, with each successive cohort becoming more internally unequal.
The bottom 50% of Gen X households hold only a few percent of generational wealth — their median net worth is around $73,000 (per the same SCF data), far below the generational average.
One striking stat: Gen X makes up 57% of the top 10% of all U.S. households by net worth (CNBC, Nov 2025), because they're in their peak earning years while many Boomers are already retired.
So the pattern across all three generations is consistent: roughly two-thirds of each generation's wealth sits in the top 10%, with the share creeping up slightly for each younger cohort. The World Inequality Lab (2024) confirms within-cohort inequality is now at its post-WWII peak."
Dumb.
70% of Boomers own homes, the asset that matters the most.
“70% of Boomers own homes, the asset that matters the most”- very dumb.
No doubt there is a lot in this article that is spot on, but it is more complex. I am a senior who experienced near zero interest rates for 10 years or more. For those who were in the market during that time their wealth increased as the corporate world had extremely low borrowing rates. As someone who has no desire to be wealthy I choose not to be in the market. Wealth doesn't bring happiness. My goal was to live within my means without major worries. Paid the mortgage off so my retirement wasn't burdened. Kept my car 10 years or more. My wife and I were raised in a time when people actually cooked real food. My mother in law was frugal and lived off her CD interest and a very small Social Security check. At the end of her life zero interest forced her to use her lifelong savings. It is a complex world for many old and the young to navigate. Although, I have great sympathy for the young many make choices that many seniors wouldn't. Expensive cellphones, expensive cell and internet plans, fast food, tattoos, and the list goes on. The Elite have a plan. It is fewer people and 15 minute cities where the population lives in high rises and do not own a car. A one party Government where control is the goal.
You wrote, "There’s a budding civil war on mainstream news trying to set the young against seniors."
Respectfully, the fires were stoked by anyone simply reading your title "Seniors Get Rich, the Young go broke." I appreciate your conclusions in the last 3rd of your article, but would prefer a less salacious introduction.
Not all criticism. All sides need to be aired and your article does a good job at doing that. Thank you.
All the seniors I know are either poor, or retired and doing part time work to make ends meet.