A new analysis from Visa Business and Economic Insights (VBEI) indicates that the anticipated intergenerational shift of assets—often called the great wealth transfer—is actively influencing spending habits among Americans today, particularly in significant purchases such as homes, vehicles, and vacations.
Researchers estimate that roughly $36 trillion in wealth will move from baby boomers to Gen X and millennial households over the coming two decades.
This figure accounts for debts, retirement consumption, taxes, fees, and the exclusion of the wealthiest 1 percent of households.
Although baby boomers control about $93 trillion in total assets—more than triple the U.S. gross domestic product—the net amount reaching younger generations averages around $515,000 per recipient household.
The research highlights that the transfer’s economic effects will be more focused than previously imagined.
About 75 percent of inheritance recipients already possess net worth above the national median, leading experts to project that $28 trillion of the total will likely be directed toward savings or investments rather than immediate consumption.
This leaves approximately $8 trillion available for spending, creating selective boosts in certain industries.
Spending increases are projected to appear most prominently in big-ticket categories.
For instance, automobile purchases could experience an average annual growth lift of 6.4 percent over the next 20 years.
Broader consumer expenditures are expected to receive a modest overall uplift of about 0.1 percentage point to annual real spending growth through 2046. Sectors such as housing, travel, retail, and related services stand to benefit the most from these trends.
Evidence suggests the shift is not a distant prospect but is occurring in real time.
One-quarter of millennial homeowners have already received financial help from parents for down payments, with 26 percent stating they could not have bought their property otherwise.
More than half of those anticipating inheritances view such funds as essential for homeownership, a sentiment shared by 69 percent of millennials.
In leisure travel, 28 percent of grandparents have participated in “skip-generation” trips with grandchildren (excluding the parents), and another 35 percent intend to do so soon.
Many boomers are opting to distribute resources while still living. Surveys show 66 percent prefer seeing their family enjoy the wealth during their lifetime, compared to 34 percent who plan to pass it on posthumously.
Wayne Best, Visa’s chief economist, noted that for companies in high-value areas like real estate and tourism, these changes are actively shaping decisions and future growth distribution.
Younger families may achieve key life goals—such as homeownership and travel—earlier thanks to intergenerational support. Businesses in affected industries should prepare for demand concentrated in these segments.
Financial services providers, including banks and wealth managers, have substantial opportunities to assist inheritors with investment, savings, and property-related needs.
The VBEI report draws on internal economic models, Federal Reserve data, Treasury and Labor Department statistics, and independent consumer surveys.
While the wealth movement promises targeted economic stimulation, its primary legacy may lie in reinforcing financial security among already stable households rather than broadly transforming national consumption. As this transfer unfolds, it underscores evolving family dynamics around money, timing, and shared experiences in modern America.