America’s older households now sit on nearly $140 trillion in wealth, and much of that gain came recently. Bank of America Institute said households aged 55 and over held around three-quarters of the nation’s total net worth in the second quarter of 2026, based on Federal Reserve data.
Senior economist David Michael Tinsley wrote that, 'with equity markets rising strongly,' those households have seen 'a more than 20% increase in their net worth over the past two years.' Bank of America said the rally has been driven by stocks tied to artificial intelligence. The Magnificent Seven accounted for more than half of the S&P 500’s gains last year, and Goldman Sachs strategists found technology stocks drove 85% of the index’s return through mid-May this year.
The imbalance is stark. Americans 55 and over make up about 31% of the population, according to Census Bureau estimates, but control roughly 75% of total net worth. Boomers own 54% of all U.S. stocks, even though the generation heads only about 30% of households.
That concentration gives older Americans what Bank of America calls 'considerable capacity to spend on travel and other leisure categories.' With more free time and a larger share of the population, they are becoming an increasingly important market for businesses chasing consumer dollars.
Most of the wealth belongs to boomers, whose members turn 62 through 80 this year. Census Bureau estimates put their number at about 68 million. They held $97.4 trillion in the second quarter, according to Federal Reserve data, about 52% of all U.S. household net worth and roughly 70% of the 55-plus total.
The report also shows how uneven the stock-market wealth effect remains. Bank of America’s earlier research found those gains were concentrated among higher-income households. The wealthiest 10% of boomer households controlled 71% of the generation’s wealth in 2022, while nearly a third of Americans 55 and older had no retirement savings.
Across all ages, the split is even sharper. In the second quarter, the bottom half of U.S. households held $0.37 trillion in stocks and mutual funds, while the top 0.1% held $16.15 trillion. Ray Dalio called AI 'a bubble that is going to have devastating effects on many people,' adding that 'most people are not benefiting adequately.'
For households without a cushion, the picture is much tighter. Census Bureau research cited by the institute found that about 14% of Social Security recipients over 65 rely on it for more than 90% of their income. Rising gasoline costs and heavier health care expenses can put more pressure on those households, making them more dependent on Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustments.
The numbers come first. This is what happens when capital compounds for decades and the market rewards asset ownership far more than wages. The result is a powerful consumer class on one side and a growing group still trying to build wealth on the other.
For businesses, the message is straightforward: older Americans are now one of the most important demand centers in the economy. For policymakers, the figure is harder to ignore. A market-led wealth surge can lift spending and earnings, but it also leaves the taxpayer and the next generation to live with the imbalance.
