Inherited fortunes are set to shift toward younger, female and LGBTQ owners
UBS says the Great Wealth Transfer will change who controls large fortunes, with implications for investing, philanthropy and estate planning.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
A long-expected transfer of family wealth is poised to change who controls major fortunes. UBS says younger generations, women and openly LGBTQ people will have greater influence over investment decisions as assets pass from baby boomers to heirs and spouses.
Studies cited by Fortune have estimated that as much as $124 trillion could move from older Americans to younger generations over the next 20 to 30 years. UBS modeling puts the amount changing hands over the next two decades at about $80 trillion, according to Paul Donovan, an economist at the bank.
Donovan wrote that the demographic profile of future wealth holders will differ from that of today’s older asset owners. The baby boom generation, born from 1946 through 1964, has accumulated more wealth than any prior generation, according to Fortune’s account of the UBS analysis.
Generational change alters the investor base
Gallup research cited by Donovan found wide differences in LGBTQ identification by age. About 3% of baby boomers identified as LGBTQ, compared with 23% of Gen Z and about 10% of millennials, according to Gallup.
Donovan said in his UBS note that about one-fifth of the inheriting generation, mostly Gen X, is either openly queer or has openly queer children. He argued that LGBTQ investors’ views will carry more weight in investment strategy and in the global cost of capital as inherited wealth moves.
UBS also pointed to a shift toward women controlling more assets. In its 2024 Wealth Report, the bank said $9 trillion would be transferred within generations, largely between spouses, as part of the broader wealth transfer.
Life expectancy and marriage patterns help explain that shift, according to the data cited by Fortune. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports average U.S. life expectancy of 80.2 years for women and 74.8 years for men. Census Bureau data shows men are a little over 30 at first marriage on average, while women are about 28, increasing the likelihood that wives in heterosexual marriages outlive husbands and inherit assets.
Advisers face different planning demands
Donovan said wealth managers may need to account for different risks and priorities among LGBTQ clients. He wrote that some LGBTQ investors may say they are no different from other investors, but argued that prejudice still changes financial planning needs.
One issue is liquidity, according to Donovan. He cited workplace discrimination as a reason queer investors may need more readily available cash, despite legal protections meant to bar unequal treatment.
The Williams Institute at UCLA reported in 2024 that 47% of LGBTQ employees in a survey of nearly 2,000 people said they had faced discrimination or harassment at work. The reported experiences included being fired, not hired, denied promotion, verbally harassed, physically harassed or sexually harassed.
Estate planning can also be more complicated for LGBTQ investors, Donovan wrote. Same-sex marriage is legal in countries including the U.S., U.K. and Canada, but many countries in the Middle East and Africa either do not recognize it or define it as illegal, according to Fortune’s summary of the UBS note.
Donovan said inheritance and parental-rights laws can affect legacy planning for queer investors. That creates a need for more careful structuring in jurisdictions that do not recognize marriages or family relationships in the same way.
Investor preferences may shift as well. Morgan Stanley research from 2023 found demand for products and strategies tied to equity and inclusion among 67% of Gen Z investors, 56% of millennials, 86% of LGBTQ investors and 76% of heterosexual investors with an LGBTQ household member.
Women’s growing control over wealth could also affect philanthropy. Heather McLeod Grant and Jessica Robinson Love wrote in the Stanford Social Innovation Review that, in their impact-investing experience, single women tend to give a larger share of their assets and spread giving more broadly than men, who tend to concentrate donations among fewer funds.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.