# U.S. Households Set to Transfer $123.7 Trillion Through 2048

By John Kim

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/29500
Published: 2026-10-10T11:23:13.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-10T11:23:13.000Z
Section: Business

> The projected total includes $105.3 trillion for heirs and $18.4 trillion for philanthropy, with high-net-worth households accounting for more than half.

U.S. households are projected to transfer $123.7 trillion between 2024 and 2048, including inheritances and charitable giving, highlighting the scale of wealth expected to move between generations.

Measured in 2023 dollars, the projection includes $105.3 trillion directed to heirs and $18.4 trillion for philanthropic causes. The figure represents expected transfers rather than money that has already changed hands.

Baby Boomers and older generations are projected to account for nearly $100 trillion, or 81% of the total. Baby Boomers alone are expected to transfer $79 trillion through 2048.

“Eventually, most of the wealth owned by older generations in the U.S. will be either donated or passed down to Gen X or Millennial heirs,” said Chayce Horton, a senior analyst.

Millennials are projected to inherit $46 trillion over the 25-year period, compared with $39 trillion for Generation X. Over the next decade, however, Gen X is projected to receive $14 trillion, versus $8 trillion for Millennials.

The transfer is concentrated among wealthy households. High-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth households, representing about 2% of all U.S. households, are expected to account for $62 trillion, or more than half of the projected total.

About $54 trillion is expected to move first through intra-generational transfers, mainly to spouses, before eventually reaching heirs or charities. More than 95% of those transfers are projected to go to women.

Giving intentions are also strongest among younger donors. A 2026 survey of more than 1,000 active U.S. donors and 400 nonprofit fundraising leaders found that 75% of Millennials planned to give more in 2026 than in 2025, compared with 49% of Gen X and 36% of Baby Boomers and older donors.

Eighty percent of Millennials planned to give to at least one new nonprofit in 2026, while 42% had used a donor-advised fund or another tax-advantaged giving vehicle during the prior year. The findings measure intentions and reported behavior, not donation amounts, and do not establish that inheritances caused the increase in giving.

“We keep talking about the wealth transfer like it's on its way. It isn't. It's already happening,” said Dennis Fois, CEO. “The window for cultivating the next generation is open.”