Why Inheritance is the New Hustle (and What That Means for You and Me)

Want to get rich in 2025? Don’t start a company. Don’t climb the corporate ladder. Just be born into the right family.

That’s not clickbait — it’s the argument The Economist just made.

“In rich countries, inheritance is back. The surest way to get rich is not by working hard but by marrying the right person.” — The Economist, “How to Get Rich in 2025”

According to their analysis, we are returning to a world not unlike 19th-century England, where wealth is determined at birth. The article paints a stark picture: inheritance has become more dominant than entrepreneurship, investment, or even high-paying careers.

The numbers are staggering:

• Annual inheritances now account for $6 trillion across rich countries.
• In 2023, 53 people became billionaires by inheritance, compared to just 84 through work.
• Inheritances in Italy alone are now worth over 15% of GDP.
• For every $100 paid in wages in the U.S., the dead leave behind $20 in bequests.

? The Economist is right about one thing: We are seeing an inheritance boom.

? But here’s what they’re missing: Just because inheritance is growing doesn’t mean it guarantees wealth.

What they don’t tell you is that most inherited wealth still disappears within three generations. Just ask the Vanderbilts.

The Self-Made Myth (That Was Never Really True)

The Economist contrasts today’s inheritance-driven economy with the 20th-century ideal of the self-made entrepreneur. But was wealth ever truly self-made?

Take Silicon Valley—the supposed epicenter of meritocracy, where teenage coders build billion-dollar companies from dorm rooms and garages. That’s the myth. The reality?

• Elon Musk’s father owned an emerald mine in South Africa.
• Mark Zuckerberg’s parents bankrolled his early coding lessons and Harvard tuition.
• Jeff Bezos’s parents invested nearly $250,000 in Amazon in 1995 (roughly $500K in today’s dollars).

? The Economist is right that entrepreneurship is declining.

? But that’s because wealth has always favored those with access to capital. What’s changed is that inheritance is no longer the exception—it’s becoming the rule.

But does that mean inherited wealth is unshakable?

The Great Wealth Bottleneck: Concentration vs. Decay

? The Economist is right that inheritance is concentrating wealth.

? But history tells us that wealth often collapses without governance.

Look at the Walton family, heirs to the Walmart empire.

• Their combined wealth exceeds $250 billion.
• They didn’t build Walmart—they inherited it.
• They preserve and expand their fortune not through innovation, but through financial engineering—stock buybacks, tax loopholes, and governance structures that consolidate power.

“The inheritance boom is already upending the marriage market.” — The Economist

Contrast that with the Vanderbilts.

Cornelius Vanderbilt built one of the greatest fortunes in U.S. history. But within three generations, his family had lost nearly everything.

• No wealth governance.
• No intergenerational planning.
• No reinvestment strategy.

? The Economist is right that many wealthy families squander their fortunes.

? But they miss the real point: It’s not inheritance that secures wealth — it’s governance.

The Historical Wealth Cycle: Is This Time Different?

? The Economist argues that inheritance is inevitable.

? But history says otherwise—wealth doesn’t just concentrate, it reshuffles.

We’ve seen this cycle before:

• Ancient Rome: Aristocratic families hoarded wealth—until the empire collapsed and redistribution followed.
• 19th-century Europe: The old-money elite ruled—until industrial capitalism replaced them.
• Post-WWII America: The self-made millionaire era displaced inherited dynasties—at least for a while.

One family proves that wealth doesn’t have to decay—it can be actively designed for longevity.

The Rothschild dynasty has sustained its wealth for over 200 years. How?

• Structured wealth governance.
• Intergenerational education.
• Strategic reinvestment.

Unlike the Vanderbilts, the Rothschilds understood that wealth isn’t something you inherit—it’s something you architect.

The Great Wealth Transfer: The Biggest Test Yet

“American baby-boomers, a fifth of the population, own half of the country’s net wealth—$82 trillion.” — The Economist

Over the next 20 years, $84 trillion will transfer from Baby Boomers to Millennials and Gen Z—the largest intergenerational wealth shift in history.

? The Economist is right that this could entrench an inheritor class.

? But they ignore the fact that wealth is shifting in purpose, not just ownership.

• 70% of heirs fire their parents’ financial advisors.
• Millennials are 3x more likely to invest in crypto, ESG, and impact funds than Boomers.
• By 2040, women will control nearly two-thirds of the world's wealth.

Will this wealth transfer reinforce dynastic wealth, or disrupt it?

The Wealth Choice: Passive Inheritor or Active Architect?

? The Economist is right that wealth is becoming more inherited than earned.

? But that doesn’t mean wealth is static.

Because inheritance alone has never been enough.

• The Vanderbilts proved that wealth can disappear.
• The Rothschilds proved that wealth governance sustains it.
• The Waltons proved that financial engineering extends it.
• Millennials & Gen Z may prove that impact reshapes it.

?? The real question is: What will you do with it?

One waits for fortune. The other shapes their own.

What’s Next?

In future editions of What the Wealth?, we’ll explore:

• How Rising Generations can design resilient wealth ecosystems.
• The new governance models shaping wealth beyond money.
• Why impact is becoming the new capital of the ultra-wealthy.

Are you ready for it?

Primary Source: The Economist Article

The Economist. (2025, February 27). How to Get Rich in 2025. Retrieved from https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/02/27/how-to-get-rich-in-2025

Wealth & Inheritance Data

UBS. (2023). Billionaire Ambitions Report 2023: The Shift Toward Inherited Wealth. UBS Global Wealth Management.

• Key Findings: 53 new billionaires inherited wealth in 2023, compared to 84 who were self-made.
• Access: https://www.ubs.com/global/en/wealth-management.html

Cerulli Associates. (2023). U.S. High-Net-Worth and Ultra-High-Net-Worth Markets 2023: The Great Wealth Transfer.

• Key Findings: $84 trillion in assets will transfer from Baby Boomers to Millennials & Gen Z by 2045.
• Access: https://www.cerulli.com

Williams Group Wealth Consultancy. (2018). Generational Wealth Report.

• Key Findings: 70% of families lose their wealth by the second generation, and 90% by the third.
• Source: Private consultancy, summary available at https://www.williamsgroup.com

McKinsey & Company. (2023). Women as the Next Wave of Wealth Holders.

• Key Findings: By 2040, women will control nearly two-thirds of private wealth globally.
• Access: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-insights

Historical Wealth Patterns & Case Studies

Chernow, R. (1999). The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance. New York: Grove Press.

• Examines how structured governance sustained the Rothschild and Morgan banking dynasties.

Cooper, H. S. M. (2017). The Vanderbilts and the Gilded Age: Architectural Aspirations, 1879–1901. New York: Rizzoli.

• Case study on how the Vanderbilt fortune collapsed in three generations due to poor governance.

Walton Family Foundation. (2022). Annual Report on Walmart’s Economic Impact.

• Walton heirs now control over $250 billion, preserving wealth through tax structures rather than business growth.
• Access: https://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org

Additional Economic Studies & Reports

Piketty, T., & Zucman, G. (2014). Capital is Back: Wealth-Income Ratios in Rich Countries, 1700–2010. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 129(3), 1255–1310.

• Shows that slow economic growth correlates with increased inherited wealth as a share of national income.
• DOI: 10.1093/qje/qju018

Federal Reserve. (2023). Survey of Consumer Finances: Wealth Transfer Data.

• Finds that top 5% of earners receive over $50,000 in inheritance on average, while middle-class individuals receive under $5,000.
• Access: https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/scfindex.htm

Legal & General. (2023). Bank of Mum and Dad: The Hidden Mortgage Lender.

• Finds that intergenerational wealth transfers significantly increase homeownership rates among young people.
• Access: https://www.legalandgeneral.com