Women are expected to inherit $54 trillion as part of the $124 trillion Great Wealth Transfer by 2048, according to Cerulli Associates. This transfer of wealth, discussed at Fortune’s 26th annual Most Powerful Women conference, highlights the growing financial influence of women, who will receive more than the $52 trillion allocated to children and $18 trillion to charity.
At the conference in Santa Barbara, Deloitte U.S. federal health sector leader Beth Meagher emphasized the significant role women will play in shaping investment and wealth deployment. She noted that women entrepreneurs have seen wealth concentration grow by over 125% in the past decade, while women veterans have experienced roughly 300% growth in recent years. Morgan Stanley’s Seema Hingorani also highlighted early recognition of this trend during her tenure at the New York City Pension Fund in the early 2010s.
The Great Wealth Transfer represents a major shift in the financial landscape, with women entrepreneurs emerging as one of the fastest-growing sources of wealth. This shift is expected to influence investment strategies and capital allocation across sectors. The scale of the transfer underscores the importance of understanding demographic changes in wealth ownership, with implications for asset management and financial services industries.
Cerulli Associates’ projection of $124 trillion in wealth passing down by 2048 provides a concrete measure of the scale of this shift. The $54 trillion destined for women signals a transformative period for wealth management and entrepreneurship, as women increasingly shape the future of financial markets.