Gen Z is confident in its ability to build up wealth — at least the rich ones are
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- Among high-income earners, Gen Z is most confident in their ability to get richer.
- Gen Z women are particularly confident in their ability to create wealth.
- The rest of Gen Z may not share this confidence.
It seems the rich are confident that they will be able to build wealth, and the affluent side of Gen Z is no exception.
In a new report released by global property consultancy Knight Frank, globally, 65% of high-net-worth individuals expect to see their wealth go up in 2024.
High-net-worth individuals are defined as people with a net worth of over $1 million or an annual income of $200,000 or more. Knight Frank's Next Gen Survey was conducted on 600 high-net-worth individuals.
Gen Z seems to be the most confident that this will occur, with 75% of the youngest generation in the workforce expecting to see their wealth increase. Of that group, 43% expect to see "significant growth."
"A clear pattern emerges when data is analyzed by age: younger affluent groups are more confident about the economic outlook compared with older groups," the report says.
A gender breakdown reveals that 81% of high-net-worth Gen Z women, versus 69% of high-net-worth Gen Z men, expect to see their money grow — a deviation from the overall trend, which saw men more likely to indicate that their money would increase.
The report stated that this could indicate that the 38% rise in female ultra-high-net-worth earners, or people with a net worth over $30 million, over the past decade "is set to keep building."
Overall, rich young people are set to make a lot of money in the coming years.
Per the report, $90 trillion worth of assets is expected to trickle down in the next 20 years, with millennials set to be the winners of this wealth transfer.
Rich millennials could become "the richest generation in history," according to the report.
As for the rest of Gen Z and millennials, the future doesn't appear to them as optimistic — but things still may be looking up for this less privileged group.
Millennials and Gen Z face inflation, healthcare costs, and ever-increasing housing and car costs. Additionally, debt is a major issue among younger generations. When it comes to the ability to make large purchases like buying a home, confidence among these young generations is low.
However, previous surveys show that these younger generations are also seeing a growth in their net worth — thanks, in part, to the early pandemic era.
Per an analysis by the Liberty Street Economics blog at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Americans under 40 saw a wealth increase of 80%. The growth was influenced by a variety of factors, Business Insider previously reported, including stimulus checks, savings due to lockdown restrictions, and a pause on student loan payments.