Baby boomers control most of the nation's wealth, including most of the wealth among affluent and high-net-worth households, according to a new report.
However, the report added, wealth levels are shifting amid generations as boomers retire and the younger Gen Xers and millennials enter their prime earning and asset-building years.
"Among affluent and high-net-worth households, wealth share has shifted away from the silent generation (those born between 1929 and 1945) and toward Generation X and millennial households, while baby boomer wealth share has remained relatively consistent," according to a press release by Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com that conducted the study.
The study found that boomers control 54 percent of household wealth in the U.S., followed by Generation X with 22 percent, the silent generation with 21 percent and millennials with only 4 percent.
Among affluent households, defined as those with between $150,000 and $1 million in annual income, boomers control 57 percent, Gen X controls 24 percent, the silent generation 17 percent and millennials 2 percent.
Among high-net-worth households, those with a worth of $1 million to $5 million, boomers control 56 percent, the silent generation controls 22 percent, Gen X controls 20 percent and millennials 2 percent, the report said.
While the younger generations control only a small portion of the nation's wealth, the report noted that their share continues to grow. Total millennial wealth has increased 500 percent from 2010 to 2019, while Gen Xers have seen their share grow 181 percent during that period, the report said.
Moreover, among high-net-worth households, Generation X wealth has doubled during the period.
The report was based on data and surveys from several U.S. government sources, including the Consumer Expenditure Survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Survey of Consumer Finances by the Federal Reserve, according to Packaged Facts.