Affluent Americans By Generation [CHART]

Chart: Affluent Americans by Generation

Today’s marketers very much hold a focus on Millennials – and even Gen Z. But when it comes to wealth in the US, younger generations distantly trail their older counterparts, despite some gains. In fact, data from Phoenix Marketing International (PMI) indicates that roughly 70% of the wealth and affluent market (those with investable assets of at least $100k) is made up of Americans born before 1965.

Baby Boomers are easily the most influential of the generations in this aspect, comprising 55% of the wealth and affluent market. Not to be forgotten, the Silent generation represents an additional 15% of the market, a larger proportion than the Millennial generation (aged 36 and under). Gen X for its part, while now the largest generation of affluents by income, comprises 17% of the wealth and affluent market.

These figures bring to mind a widely-cited statistic published by Nielsen earlier this decade, in which Boomers were projected to control 70% of US disposable income by this year.

The astounding wealth gap in the US persists, per the report. To wit, the top 1% of wealthiest households in the US held almost one-quarter (24%) of total liquid wealth in the US as of June 30, 2016. That’s about 2-and-a-half times the share of liquid wealth (9%) held by non-affluents (less than $100k in investable assets), who comprise 70% of US households. Read the rest at MarketingCharts.