A historic transfer of wealth is now in motion as trillions of dollars held by older generations are moved down the line.

And according to a new report, one under-explored facet of the transfer is just how much money is about to move “horizontally.”

In its 2024 Global Wealth Report, UBS says that within the next 20 years, older generations are expected to hand over $83 trillion worth of assets – a figure roughly equivalent to the economic output of all countries in a single year.

But many members of younger generations will have to wait in line as spouses first take charge of the assets, before they are transferred to the couple’s children.

“In practice, this means a considerable transfer of wealth to women, considering their comparatively higher life expectancy.

Just over 10%, about $9 trillion, of the great wealth transfer are expected to be passed on horizontally first, most of it in the Americas.”

Last month, people intelligence think tank Altrata reported that Gen X, those born between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s, are poised to inherit $31 trillion worth of assets from their predecessors within the next decade.

In April, Big Four accounting firm Ernst & Young (EY) estimated that baby boomers will transfer up to $3 trillion in wealth to their kin before the year expires. EY also said that the “tidal wave” of wealth transfer from baby boomers to their families will continue until the dawn of a new decade.

“The inheritance of baby boomers’ wealth is not only the largest transfer of assets in world history; it will also have a transformative effect on female and next-generation inheritors. Wealthy donors will pass a staggering $18 trillion, roughly equivalent to the annual GDP of China, to beneficiaries by 2030.”

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