'Gen Z Will Be The Richest Generation,' Says Economist Justin Wolfers. The Bigger Question Is Who Actually Ends Up Owning The Wealth

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2026-02-23 00:59:30

‘Gen Z Will Be The Richest Generation,’ Says Economist Justin Wolfers. The Bigger Question Is Who Actually Ends Up Owning The Wealth

Adrian Volenik

Sun, February 22, 2026 at 12:00 AM GMT+9 4 min read

Is Generation Z economically doomed, or are they positioned to become the wealthiest cohort in history?

That was the central question during a recent discussion on MS NOW featuring University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers and commentator Kyla Scanlon. While much of the public conversation has focused on rising housing costs, artificial intelligence and economic instability, Wolfers offered a strikingly optimistic take.

A Disrupted Economic Ladder

Scanlon pushed back on the idea that Gen Z is simply “screwed.” Instead, she argued that the traditional path to stability has shifted.

“If you think about graduating college, getting a career, buying a house, getting married, having kids, all of those things are pretty disrupted,” she said. “So, if you think that means that they’re screwed, maybe, but it just means that the ladder is definitely disrupted.”

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Young people are adjusting. Instead of prioritizing homeownership, many are investing in the stock market or exploring speculative assets. Scanlon described a phenomenon she calls “aspirational displacement,” where people have income but cannot afford traditional milestones like a home, so they put their money elsewhere.

That shift, according to Scanlon, doesn’t automatically signal collapse. It reflects structural change.

Housing remains the biggest flashpoint. Wolfers noted that older generations accumulated wealth simply by holding property during decades of price appreciation.

“There’s a generation who grew up and got rich the old-fashioned way, which is to say sat around, did nothing, and watched their house price double,” he said.

The challenge for younger buyers, he argued, is not construction costs but land and regulation.

“Bricks are not expensive,” Wolfers said. “Young people can afford bricks. What they can’t afford is the dirt on which you’d put those bricks.”

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Zoning restrictions and limited supply have intensified competition. Even so, data shows Gen Z homeownership rates at age 24 slightly exceed those of millennials and Gen X at the same age. Scanlon added important context: much of that buying power comes from parental assistance and the ongoing wealth transfer between generations.

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Still, Wolfers rejected the narrative of inevitable decline.

The AI Wealth Divide

“Gen Z will be the richest generation and Gen Z in the United States will be the richest generation in the richest country in the history of the world,” he said.

The real uncertainty, he added, is distribution.

“Will it go to just a couple of people, the AI entrepreneurs who end up owning everything?” he asked. “Or are we going to invent ways in which this revolutionary technology can actually lift us all up and we all get a useful slice of the pie?”

AI sits at the center of that debate. It could dramatically increase productivity and expand overall wealth. It could also concentrate gains among a narrow group of founders and investors.

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Gen Z is not facing the same economy previous generations entered. The ladder looks different. The milestones arrive later. Wealth may accumulate in new forms.

Whether that results in broad prosperity or deeper inequality will depend less on inevitability and more on policy, innovation and who ultimately controls the tools reshaping the economy.

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This article ‘Gen Z Will Be The Richest Generation,’ Says Economist Justin Wolfers. The Bigger Question Is Who Actually Ends Up Owning The Wealth originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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