Australia's Productivity Commission estimates that the baby boomer generation (born between 1946 and 1964, aged 56 - 74 in 2020) will pass $3.5 trillion dollars in wealth to their heirs by 2050.
The distribution will not be even.
Why?
Because wealth distribution among the elderly is not even.
The ratio of mean wealth to median wealth for Australian households headed by someone over 65 is roughly the same as that for all households; older households are just as equal, or unequal, as the whole of Australia.
A senior household at the top of the 1st quintile (poorest 20%) will leave behind about $180,000, potentially split among heirs. Across wealth levels, the average amount a single person inherits is $125,000. That's barely enough for a home deposit in a major city.
Meanwhile, the poorest seniors of the top quintile will leave behind about $1.7M, which could be carved up into decent income streams.
Speaking of income, wHy dOn'T YoU LaZy kIDs jUsT WORK fOr iT?
Measured by Gini coefficient, household income inequality (0.324) is lower than household wealth inequality (0.611).
It is probably not appropriate to - as the title suggests - compare inheritance returns with equity returns, because a return on investment requires ... investment. That is not to say that one can expect bequests for free, without effort or selectivity.
While it is better to avoid estrangement and be democratically ingratiating both professionally and domestically, your choice of parents - or patrons - will affect your wealth more than will your choice of vocation impact your income.
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