Do you know where $9 trillion is about to go?
This one is for the ladies…
You’ve probably heard of the great wealth transfer, which anticipates a whopping $84 TRILLION to get passed down over the next 20 years.
But you may not have heard about the “HORIZONTAL wealth transfer”. The tl;dr is: ladies ‘bout to get some serious dough.
So, what exactly is this horizontal wealth transfer? In short, it’s the massive shift of assets expected to occur as older generations pass down their wealth to younger ones. But here’s the plot twist: some of this wealth is moving sideways, from one gender to another. Women, who typically outlive their male spouses, are poised to inherit an unprecedented fortune in the coming years - $9 trillion to be exact, according to UBS.
And this transfer is going to happen relatively soon…there are currently over 43 million people in the Americas over the age of 75, with over $50 trillion in combined transferrable wealth.
The “Feminization of Wealth.”: A New Dynamic
This wealth transfer, along with the rise of women’s earning power through more leadership roles, launching new businesses, and increased access to education, is creating the so-called “feminization of wealth” - or simply, a world in which women have more money.
But this shift in wealth isn’t just about inheriting wealth; it’s about what happens next. Historically, women generally have been more of the stewards of households and less involved in financial matters. Now, women increasingly make up a growing share of high-net worth investors, consumers and philanthropists. What’s more, as women gain more financial power, they’re not just inheriting stocks and bonds — they’re inheriting influence.
We’ve seen some major female figures embracing and championing the feminization of wealth: Melinda Gates founded Pivotal Ventures, an investment and incubation company aimed at accelerating social progress in the United States. She also has made it a central mission of her philanthropic work to focus on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, and recently pledged $1 billion towards this goal. MacKenzie Scott is another obvious example, and she is using her wealth to set a new standard for rapid, no-strings-attached giving within the philanthropic realm.
Women are known to think differently about money than men do. Research consistently shows that women tend to be more risk-averse and longer-term oriented than men in their investment choices and tend to invest more in their families and communities. We might see these trends manifest in more investments focused on sustainability, more economic stability, and a boost in female entrepreneurship and innovation.
But What About the Men?
Now, before any of the gentlemen reading start feeling left out, let’s be clear: this isn’t about women versus men. It’s about balance. The great horizontal wealth transfer is an opportunity to redefine financial norms and create a more inclusive economy that works for everyone. It’s about recognizing that everyone, regardless of gender, has something valuable to bring to the table—whether it’s investment savvy, entrepreneurial spirit, or a vision for a better world.
In Conclusion: A New Era of Wealth
Perhaps the summer of 2023 (dubbed the “girl economy”), where Tay, Bey and Barbie single-handedly boosted the US economy, was an early sign of what’s to come. Regardless, as we face this massive shift, it’s worth reflecting on what kind of world we want to build. Women inheriting wealth isn’t just a financial trend—it’s a chance to rewrite the rules, to imagine new possibilities, and to create an economy that reflects the diversity and strength of all its participants.
As Sallie Krawcheck says, “Nothing bad happens when women have more money.”