The Great Wealth Transfer is underway in the United States. Between 2024 and 2048, an estimated $124 trillion in assets is expected to be transferred from baby boomers and the Silent Generation primarily to Generation X, millennials, Generation Z and charity.
This massive transfer of wealth will have major financial implications for families, many of whom have not discussed plans for either how much money will be passed down or what heirs will do with that money once they receive it.
According to a Morning Consult survey commissioned by Kiplinger, roughly two in five families have not discussed an inheritance strategy. Part of this, of course, is that money is considered a taboo subject. But also, the subject of inheritance requires people to acknowledge mortality.
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Indeed, roughly a quarter of parents and children surveyed by Morning Consult for Kiplinger’s Trillion Dollar Talk campaign said they are somewhat uncomfortable or very uncomfortable talking about money — and inheritance is one of the most difficult topics for them to discuss.
“I couldn’t find it in my heart to ask,” said one respondent when asked about talking through inheritance plans with their parents.
Be sure each child understands both the logic for your decisions and the responsibilities they will encounter upon your death. – Warren Buffett
But talking about inheritance — whether you’re giving one or receiving one — is of the utmost importance and allows families to manage expectations, prevent disagreements and create a financial plan.
“Be sure each child understands both the logic for your decisions and the responsibilities they will encounter upon your death,” wrote Warren Buffett in November 2024 (PDF). “If any have questions or suggestions, listen carefully and adopt those found sensible. You don’t want your children asking ‘Why?’ in respect to testamentary decisions when you are no longer able to respond.”
This is just one lesson the famed investor imparts on inheritance. Below, we’ll see what else Buffett and several other influential figures have to say about passing on wealth.
Warren Buffett
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According to Cerulli Associates, roughly 15% of the $124 trillion expected to change hands during the Great Wealth Transfer will go to charity.
“The easiest deed in the world is to give away money that will never be of any real use to you or your family,” wrote Warren Buffett in a 2021 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders (PDF). “The giving is painless and may well lead to a better life for both you and your children.”
In 2006, Buffett committed to distributing all of his Berkshire Hathaway shares to philanthropy. This equates to more than 99% of his net worth.
Leave the children enough so that they can do anything but not enough that they can do nothing. – Warren Buffett
Buffett added that society has a use for his money; he doesn’t.
The former CEO and current chairman of the holding company believes leaving his immense fortune to his three children does them a disservice. “Leave the children enough so that they can do anything but not enough that they can do nothing.”
Instead, Buffett and his three children established charitable foundations to which he will distribute his Berkshire Hathaway shares.
Shaquille O’Neal
(Image credit: Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images)
NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal is another influential figure who does not believe in automatically handing over his estimated $500 million in wealth to his six children. Instead, he’s taking a carrot-and-stick approach.
“In order to get my cheese, you have to present me with two degrees,” Shaq said in a 2022 interview. In other words, his children need to get bachelor’s and master’s degrees to inherit his wealth.
In order to get my cheese, you have to present me with two degrees. – Shaq
“I just keep them motivated,” Shaq told 7NEWS Australia. “I’m teaching them about generational wealth right now. I tell them all the time, we don’t need another NBA player in the house. If you want to play, I can help you get there, but I would rather see a doctor, dentist, a veterinarian, a world traveler, or a hedge fund guy.”
Beyoncé and Jay-Z
(Image credit: Kevin Mazur/MG26/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
Creating generational wealth is key for power couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé. The two have amassed a fortune of nearly $4 billion, thanks in part to their successful music careers, Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment production company and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation management and entertainment agency.
The two don’t typically talk about estate planning or inheritance, but a deep dive into their music provides clues to how they approach the topic. And it appears they plan to use their money to create lasting wealth for their family.
Generational wealth, that’s the key. – Jay-Z
“Daddy, what’s a will?”asks Blue Ivy Carter, the pair’s firstborn child, in Jay-Z’s 2017 song “Legacy.”
“Take those moneys and spread ‘cross families,” Jay-Z answers, saying his sisters, nephews and cousins should get a piece of the pie too. “Generational wealth, that’s the key,” he goes on to say. “My mom took her money, she bought me bonds. That was the sweetest thing of all time, uh.”
And Beyoncé made a reference to generational wealth in her and Jay-Z’s 2018 collaborative song “BOSS,” saying, “My great-great-grandchildren already rich.”
Dave Ramsey
(Image credit: Anna Webber / Stringer)
Roughly half of parents surveyed by Morning Consult said they expect to leave a meaningful inheritance to their children. Financial adviser and radio personality Dave Ramsey is here to remind them that they are not obligated to leave their kids any money.
“At the same time,” says Ramsey, “I think it’s wrong to assume that leaving them your money will damage them in some way. Wealth always magnifies the character of the person holding it.”
Too many families pass down dollars without ever passing down discipline. – Dave Ramsey
But if parents are passing down their wealth, it’s also their responsibility to teach good money management. “Too many families pass down dollars without ever passing down discipline,” explains Ramsey. “And without wisdom, that money disappears in just a generation or two… So don’t just leave your family wealth. Leave them the wisdom to build their own.”
And for children who are inheriting wealth, Ramsey believes it is their job to “manage that money for the legacy of the person who left it to” them. “That’s how you honor their gift.”
Suze Orman
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In the Morning Consult survey commissioned by Kiplinger, participants said that stocks, bonds, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds make up a small part (8%) of what they will leave their children. At the same time, 15% of heirs want to use their inheritance to grow their own wealth through investing.
But Suze Orman, financial guru and The New York Times best-selling author of The Ultimate Retirement Guide for 50+, says children should not hold onto investments they inherit for sentimental reasons.
In a 2019 podcast, Orman says that she’s noticed “when you get an inheritance from somebody you love, specifically a parent, you tend to hold on to whatever it is that you inherited, thinking that your parents are that item or that investment that they left you.”
You cannot keep your family alive by keeping the investments they left you. – Suze Orman
But just because an asset was a good investment when your parent owned it doesn’t mean it’s a good asset now.
“You cannot keep your family alive by keeping the investments they left you,” Orman explains. “You can honor them, however, and you can honor them and all of their hard work by paying attention to the money that they left you via these investments, and making wise decisions with them as to what those investments are doing right here and right now.”
If you inherited something that has to do with money, says Orman, “please don’t keep the memories alive by keeping a bad investment. Enhance the memories of what you were left by making more out of less money. By making it grow, making it grow in their memory. Making it grow in their past efforts. But not just keeping it.”
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