Getting old generally sucks.
I don’t think that point’s debatable. Sure, any one person’s lived experience might be on some vectors “better” in their 60s than some other person’s uniquely “bad” 20s, but on the whole, the benefits of being young outweigh the advantages that go along with getting old.
The aging process, however rewarding in many respects, tends to be a dead end. (Looks around at the audience. Taps mic. “Is this thing on?”)
But thanks to a whole host of macroeconomic factors that’ve coalesced into something of a perfect storm, being young’s no cake walk these days either. Just ask the institution many blame for exacerbating America’s existential wealth divide.
According to the new vintage of the Fed’s sprawling triennial household finance survey, younger Americans saw their inflation-adjusted net worth decline markedly from 2022 to 2025, while Americans aged 75 and older enjoyed a veritable bonanza, as their net worth rose almost 40% over the same stretch.
There’s the chart. What you’ll immediately notice is that the youngest cohort saw their net worth well more than double in the previous survey, which covered the three-year period from 2019 to 2022.
As The New York Fed explained in a 2024 blog post, younger Americans’ participation in the equity market increased sharply following the pandemic, and being the least well-off age cohort, they also received more in the way of government transfer payments during and immediately after the public health emergency.
The go-go, “stimmy” era — which brought us the GameStop saga and the Bored Ape Yacht Club mania — ended promptly when the Fed started raising rates. (I know, I know: “Imagine that.”) It’s been rough for the youngins since.
The figure below shows you the net worth comparison (versus the rate of change comparison illustrated in the first chart).
The median net worth for Americans 75 and older in the new survey was more than half a million dollars. That figure for those 35 and under: A mere $33,000 which (and with apologies to whomever they’re due) may as well be nothing.
The “de facto nothing” label still applied to younger Americans in the last survey, even after their net worth rose by 143%. Suffice to say when the starting point is less than $18,000, you’d need a quintupling (not a doubling or tripling) to have the beginnings of a real nest egg.
Do note: The 75 and older cohort was the only age group that saw a demonstrable increase in net worth from 2022 to 2025. Gains for those 35-44 and for the 55-64 cohort were minimal, and Americans between 45-54 and between 65-74 got poorer, along with those 35 and under.
That isn’t intuitive, or if it is, it’s only because we’re by now accustomed to economic life in an upside down society. The oldest Americans should in theory be losing ground at least on a relative basis to middle-aged cohorts, if not on an absolute basis, as they burn through their savings in anticipation of that long good night. Instead, they got 37% richer in net worth terms. (You can’t take it with you, but boy if you could!)
The same survey showed the richest households enjoyed a sharp increase in their net worth from 2022 to 2025, while both the poorest and second-poorest households saw their net worth shrink. By race, every cohort logged a gain except one: Black families’ net worth contracted by nearly a quarter.
There are good points to being old. What takes the bloom off the rose is the relentless physical deterioration. There are exceptions, but they are few and far between. “How many stents do you have? Just one? You lucky dog”. Personally I have to admit that from 22 to 26 I was very happy. I didn’t have any wealth, but I also had no responsibilities other than myself. I was also blissfully ignorant which probably explains a lot.
Compound interest, dividends, and home value appreciation could explain much of what we’re seeing with the 75+ age group (in the second chart), but it does not explain why the 45-54 and 65-74 cohorts are doing so poorly, or why the 55-64 group is essentially flat. That 55-64 group should be at peak earnings (and saving assiduously for their pending retirement).
I’d suggest that it’s survivorship bias. Relatively few poor Americans make it past 75, so we are seeing only how the upper part of the K is doing
Concur that’s part of it.
People are living longer. If you have a good doctor, cardiovascular disease and diabetes are now completely controllable and no longer a dire risk. The only wild card is cancer. If you’re lucky enough to avoid that, you’re good until you succumb to frailty or dementia in your mid-to-late 90s. Soon, they’ll push that out to 100 then 105 and so on. If you’re a rich white male in the world today expect to pull a Charlie Munger and die just short of 100.
“pull a Charlie Munger.” ha
Stroke still does people in. However that is reducing.
Aging isn’t that difficult. Avoid carbs/sugar. Keep moving. Don’t become bored with life. If you are fortunate enough to have excess savings, give your money to your kids early enough in their lives so that it is useful to them (but not too early that it saps their motivation to make something of themselves).
That’s a good summary.
Fantasy authors in the vampire genre got this correctly. The Cullens and Volturi (Twilight), Le Stat and Louis (Interview with a Vampire), Marcus Corvinus in Underworld, as well as the troop in “What we do in the Shadows” were all famously wealthy, long lived and bloodthirsty. Much like today’s super wealthy families, they exist to accumulate and never give back (God forbid!)
WWDITS are actually terrible money handlers. But they were bloodthirsty and long lived.
For many years when I was still a professor, I subscribed to a wonderful Academic style satiric journal called: The Journal of Irreproducible Results. It was one the most difficult journals in which get an article accepted there was. My favorite article in the journal was one which characterized Death as a Terminal Genetic Disease which victimizes every living human sooner or later. The thing is that though this article was a hoot, it was also true. I’ve suffered a medical death from which I had to be resuscitated on two occasions, both during complex surgical procedures. My living will commanded that if I should die I should not be brought back. My surgeon in both cases, along with my sister, ignored my wishes each time. That was in 2007. Looking back I guess I’m glad they kept me going. That’s it, however, the end of it. No joy left on this earth for me any longer. I’ve lost all my best pals. On top of it our fearless, demented leader is destroying our total environment, and most of what was good in the world is gone. I’ll be 82 in a couple weeks, the youngest of three first cousins. I’m glad to be old.
The two lessons in life that I wish had been drilled into me when I was younger are that time keeps accelerating as you get older and that longevity is seriously overrated (unless you like your doctors, attending funerals and sorting out others’ estates).
Please don’t keel over too soon. I enjoy reading the wisdom you share with us.