According to Knight Frank's 2024 Wealth Report, millennials, or Generation Y, are emerging as "the wealthiest generation in history". "Over the next decade, a massive transfer of wealth and assets will occur as the Silent Generation (1920s to 1940s) and Baby Boomers (1945s to 1960s) pass the baton to Millennials (1980s to 1995)," reveals the international real estate agency, anticipating nearly $90 trillion in wealth transfer in the US.
This upheaval promises to redefine marketing strategies, as companies have to adapt to the new wealth of millennials. "The difference in outlook between the younger and older generations will lead to a substantial re-evaluation of marketing strategies for anyone wishing to sell products or services to this newly wealthy group," the report analyses. Millennials are keen to invest in the energy transition, with "four out of five millennials [reportedly] trying to reduce their carbon consumption", Knight Frank's survey points out.
"Being part of the richest 1% of Americans is getting harder," observes Bloomberg, while CNBC highlights the current economic difficulties faced by millennials. The Guardian ironises on the image of millennials, sometimes "portrayed as frivolous spenders squandering their income in expensive cafés", before concluding that "their future financial firepower is likely to be an uneven lottery, determined mainly by the legacy of previous generations".
