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If there’s one thing boomers have developed a reputation for in recent years, it’s selfishness. Well, that and an obstinate refusal to listen to reason when it comes to the economic woes their Gen X, millennial, and Gen Z children have faced.

A recent study shows exactly how this is likely to play out as boomers continue aging and reach their golden years, not only for them, but for the children they leave behind. In short, they are taking the unprecedented prosperity they’ve enjoyed with them and never looking back.

A study finds nearly half of boomers would rather spend all their money than leave it to their kids.

Despite the hardship complex so many of them seem to have, American boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, have known a level of prosperity that has never been seen before or since they came into the world. A recent Allianz study found they are, in fact, the wealthiest generation to have ever lived. Like, literally. In history.

Which bodes well for their children, right? The so-called “Great Wealth Transfer” of boomer wealth to their Gen X, millennial & Gen Z kids is said to amount to some $124 trillion with a “T,” in money that will be bequeathed in the coming years.

But a recent study shows that might be more theoretical than literal. In January 2025, investment firm Charles Schwab released a large-scale analysis of the wealthiest boomers that showed that nearly half of them plan on spending all their money rather than leaving it to their kids.

Asked about this, 45% of boomers told Schwab they “want to enjoy my money for myself while I am still alive.”  That’s a proportion of the generation that is astronomically higher than that of the generations that have come after them.

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Boomers are disproportionately focused on keeping their money to themselves compared to younger generations.

To be fair, about a third of boomers questioned by Schwab said they hope to leave an inheritance. But both the proportions of boomers who plan to do so and the amount they plan to leave their kids are pretty shockingly different from those of their kids’ generation.

Schwab found that only 11% of Gen X’ers, those born between 1965 and 1980, said they “want to spend their money while I am still alive,” along with just 15% of millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996.

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The same trend followed in the actual inheritances that Xers and millennials with a net worth over $1 million plan to leave their kids: Gen X plans to leave an average of $4.8 million, while millennials plan to leave an average of $4.7 million.

Boomers? Just $3.1 million, despite being exponentially richer than Gen X or millennials and holding more than 50% of all the wealth in the country, according to the Federal Reserve. It’s hard not to get the distinct impression that boomers have a pronounced selfishness streak 

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Boomers’ unprecedented prosperity is also being eroded by the high cost of retirement and healthcare.

In Allianz’s study that showed boomers are the richest generation to ever live, their analysis basically boiled to one reason: They were born at exactly the right time to amass wealth, in a moment when America was enjoying unprecedented prosperity in part due to high corporate and wealth tax rates and other economic boons that boomers made it a priority to dismantle once they became the generation running the country.

This allowed them to be able to save up money at nearly double the rate of millennials, for instance. But that tide is turning for them, too, even for the most prosperous. A 2019 government report, for instance, found that about 70% of those over 65 end up with a “severe” need for long-term care, services that can cost nearly $10,000 a month in the case of nursing home care.

Not only is that likely to put a crushing dent into the “Great Wealth Transfer” everyone’s been waiting for, but with nearly half of boomers prioritizing spending over bequeathing, it’s going to land their Gen X, millennial, and Gen Z kids with their long-term care bills.

No doubt they’ll still be insisting that we’re all broke because we just don’t want to work hard like they did, even while we’re all hemorrhaging money to pay for their nursing home bills. How nice it must be to be so unshakably oblivious to the reality of things.

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John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.