Britannica Money (2024)

“Generational wealth” is a relatively new term to describe something that’s been around for centuries, at least among the wealthy—estate planning. When planned and executed properly, it can boost the financial well-being of your family for generations to come.

Building and maintaining generational wealth requires strategic planning, thoughtful investing, and excellent money stewardship. Although it’s important to keep your eye on the goal, don’t shortchange yourself in the process. You deserve to enjoy some of the fruits of your labor, too.

What is generational wealth?

Generational wealth is any type of wealth that passes down to one or more family members when a person dies. Money, real estate, and stock portfolios are just a few types of assets that can be inherited as generational wealth. If you’re thinking about buying a house, then perhaps part of your goal is generational wealth building.

Creating and sharing generational wealth is closely related to estate planning. Generational wealth can take many forms, including:

• Retirement, brokerage, and bank accounts. This may include IRAs, 401(k) plans, cash accounts, and the money, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and certificates of deposit (CDs) in them.
• Alternative investments. Wealthier clients may also invest in hedge funds, private equity, private credit, and other alternative investments.
• Cash value policies. Life insurance policies—as well as many annuities—will pay a cash value to your heirs when you pass away, potentially forming the basis of generational wealth.
• Real estate. This can include your primary residence, but also rental property, real estate investment trusts, and fractional ownership.
• Private business. When you own your own business, you might have equity that passes down. This may include cash, buildings, and equipment, but also intellectual property—patents, copyrights, and trademarks—in addition to a customer base, revenue streams, and a brand name.

You might think about the transfer of generational wealth as something that happens only after you die, but wealth transfer can and frequently does occur among the living. For example, establishing a 529 college savings plan that your child uses to pay for their education is an example of generational wealth transfer that would likely occur during your lifetime.

How do you build generational wealth? A master plan should be flexible enough to accommodate any specific wealth-building goals and financial circ*mstances. Here are five tips.

1. Identify your wealth-building objectives

Your first step is to consider what you want to accomplish. Here are some key questions to ask:

• For whom are you building generational wealth?
• What is your risk tolerance?
• What is your timeline? When do you plan to bequeath your assets?
• How would you like future generations to benefit from the wealth that you create?

The beginning of the planning process typically raises more questions than answers. You’ll also want to identify your financial weaknesses and strengths. Start by quantifying your assets, liabilities, income, and expenses in a cohesive summary.

Remember that you’re just at the start of the wealth creation process. Your priorities and resources may change over time, and that’s okay.

2. Develop a customized wealth-building strategy

Once you’re clear on your wealth-building goals and financial resources, the next step is to develop a realistic wealth creation strategy that satisfies your unique objectives.

Your plan should document a few different components:

• The specific asset types that you want to prioritize
• How your financial resources will be allocated to each asset
• How you will fund your wealth creation strategy over time
• How the assets will be securely held, such as in a retirement account or family trust
• A detailed distribution strategy, perhaps established in a will or estate plan

You might also include a provision for annual gifting and other tax minimization strategies in your wealth-building plan. You may be able to lower the overall tax burden imposed on your heirs by gifting under a certain dollar limit each tax year.

3. Execute your wealth-building strategy over time

Now it’s time to put your wealth-building plan into action. The execution phase may look very different depending on the courses of action that you choose to take. For example, building a business that you hope your children will later own and operate is starkly different from buying stocks or investing in a retirement plan.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and building generational wealth is not something you’ll complete quickly. You may work for years to create a thriving business, or perhaps you’ll invest methodically over a long span of time. Maybe you’re taking a diversified approach and doing all of the above to achieve your wealth creation goals.

The key to successfully executing your wealth-building plan is consistency. Stick with it! And don’t be afraid to adapt, especially as life events, economic conditions, and your personal goals evolve with time.

4. Monitor and measure your results

How well are you progressing toward your wealth-building goals over time? The best approach for monitoring and measuring your financial performance can vary greatly depending on the strategies that you use for wealth creation.

Here are some metrics that may be relevant to track:

• The financial performance of your investment assets
• Account balances
• Real estate appraisal values
• Business growth rates and valuation
• Cash value in any life insurance policies or annuities

5. Ensure that your heirs get a solid financial education

Another key component of generational wealth building is ensuring that your loved ones who will receive the wealth are equipped to handle it responsibly. To maximize the sustained value of your wealth-building efforts, provide financial education or otherwise ensure that your heirs receive the right knowledge to handle the assets they receive.

What topics should this financial education cover?

• Money and asset management
• Budgeting
• Investing
• Wealth building
• Wealth preservation

Part of this financial education is discussing your family’s money values. Look to impart ideas and principles that empower your heirs to bequeath wealth to their heirs, continuing the virtuous cycle of financially boosting younger family members.

What not to do when investing for the next generation

You may be highly committed to creating wealth for your family, and that dedication is admirable. But what pitfalls should you almost definitely avoid? Here’s your list of what not to do:

• Don’t neglect important personal expenses, such as health insurance.
• Don’t overcommit to wealth transfer before securing your own needs in retirement.
• Don’t use a single, undiversified strategy for generational wealth building.
• Don’t ignore the future tax consequences of transferring wealth.
• Don’t keep your plans a secret from family members.

The bottom line

Generational wealth matters. Some people receive it, while many others—especially those in marginalized groups—do not. The ability to pass along generational wealth affects the long-term financial stability of your family and the ability of its members to pursue potentially lucrative opportunities. Generational wealth transfer—or the lack of it—is a major contributor to growing financial inequality gaps.

Your journey with building generational wealth may start today. You have some planning to do, but the faithful execution of a customized wealth-building strategy can bring financial comfort to your family for generations to come.