Millennials: as exhausted as rich?

They are considered the unluckiest generation. Victims of Brexit, climate change, Covid-19, war between Ukraine and Russia and between Hamas and Israel, Millennials have lived until today with the nightmare of not being able to afford anything. Not even a bit of relaxation. With inflation on their heels, one of the biggest problems has been coming to terms with unattainable life expectations that are impossible to meet. 

In a society based on judgement, Millennials daily come to terms with the very strong feeling of never feeling competitive enough. The Washington Post was among the first to make a bitter judgment, calling them unlucky. 

It was in 2020 when the US newspaper drew a bleak picture, that of a defeated generation, witnessing weak economic growth, especially when entering the world of work (US data). Andrew Van Dam's article ventured apocalyptic predictions about the generation's future: lower earnings, lower wealth and delays in the most important milestones of life. For example, buying a house. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Un post condiviso da WILL (@will_ita)

Yet something in the air seems to have changed. 

A recent study by the British estate agency Knight Frank states that "over the next decade or so, a massive transfer of wealth and assets will occur as the silent generation and baby boomers hand over the reins to millennials. The shift will see US$90 trillion of assets move between generations in the US alone, making affluent millennials the richest generation in history".

What will actually change is not the amount of wealth available but its movement. Money will move from one generation to the next and the way it is invested will change first and foremost. If the climate crisis did not affect the Silent Ones and Baby Boomers at all, the Millennials will target sustainable markets by focusing their investments on reducing CO2 emissions and new experiments to safeguard the planet.

After catastrophic vicissitudes and years of paranoia on their shoulders, Millennials are thus poised to earn the title of the richest generation in history. And no longer "immediately already dreamless", to quote Pasolini.

Illustration by Gloria Dozio - Acrimònia Studios