Great Wealth Transfer

proper noun

The gradual movement of money from baby boomers (people born in the mid-1940s to mid-1960s) to younger generations, either given as gifts or passed on through inheritance.

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Meanings

proper nounthe Great Wealth Transfer
  1. USeconomicsThe gradual movement of money from baby boomers (people born in the mid-1940s to mid-1960s) to younger generations, either given as gifts or passed on through inheritance.First known use 2000s

    Whether you are the direct recipient in the Great Wealth Transfer, or not, this shifting of assets has the potential to impact you, your business and those around you.

    2023 December 5, Jennifer Wines, “How Might the Great Wealth Transfer Change Society?”, in Kiplinger
    3 more examples

    In a paper titled “Planning For The Great Wealth Transfer,” David L. Babson & Co. Inc. points out the transfer may not go as smoothly as expected unless those passing the money down prove to be as adept at unloading money as they were at making and saving it.

    [1992 July 5, Dick Marlowe, “Tax Bite Threatens Americans’ Inheritance”, in Orlando Sentinel, page D1

    The Great Wealth Transfer – as it is breathlessly called by financial advisers, estate lawyers, tax collectors, philanthropy directors and assorted “wealth counselors” – will be a steady, soaking rain for decades. A 1999 report by the Social Welfare Research Institute at Boston College estimated that at least $41 trillion, and quite possibly double or triple that amount, will change hands by 2052.

    2003 June 8, Stephen Dubner, “Suddenly Popular”, in New York Times Magazine, page 68

    John Havens and Paul Schervish note that over the next 55 years America will experience a “great wealth transfer” where $41 trillion will likely be passed on from one generation to the next—through bequest, philanthropy, and taxes.

    2006 November, Noah Drezner, “Recessions and Tax-Cuts: Economic Cycles’ Impact on Individual Giving, Philanthropy, and Higher Education”, in International Journal of Educational Advancement, volume 6, number 4, →DOI
Cite this entry
APA

Great Wealth Transfer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Great%20Wealth%20Transfer

MLA

“Great Wealth Transfer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Great%20Wealth%20Transfer. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Great Wealth Transfer,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Great%20Wealth%20Transfer.

Source: Great Wealth Transfer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.