Inheriting is becoming nearly as important as working

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/02/27/inheriting-is-becoming-nearly-as-important-as-working

by Majano57

12 comments

  4. I mean, this was Thomas Pickertys whole thesis. Unchecked income inequality and then wealth inequality leads to inheritance being the only means to financial security

  5. Okay then? I am sorry kids. Your dad ain’t getting that kind of inheritance money. Your education will be your inheritance. *winks in asian culture

  7. I remember reading this article in the original Akkadian. Back then the cuneiform clay tablets were so massive a news cart would carry them through town as a crier called out the gist.

  9. Good lord what has happed the new generations thinking of inheritance as a strategy

    Not everyone or majority of the people have inherited anything…. ANYTHING!! In fact we/older people have taken care of other family members and even paid off debt/obligations of former generations.

  10. Please remember that if you’re a member of the middle class and want to leave anything to your children you need a tattoo on your chest that reads “DO NOT RESUSCITATE”. If they put the tube and paddles on you the kids are eating ramen forever.

  12. „Work hard, children are told, and you will succeed. In recent decades this advice served the talented and the diligent well. Many have made their own fortunes and live comfortably, regardless of how much money they inherited. Now, however, the importance of hereditary wealth is rising around the rich world, and that is a problem.
    People in advanced economies stand to inherit around $6trn this year—about 10% of GDP, up from around 5% on average in a selection of rich countries during the middle of the 20th century. As a share of output, annual inheritance flows have doubled in France since the 1960s, and nearly trebled in Germany since the 1970s. Whether a young person can afford to buy a house and live in relative comfort is determined by inherited wealth nearly as much as it is by their own success at work. This shift has alarming economic and social consequences, because it imperils not just the meritocratic ideal, but capitalism itself.“ The Economist, February 27, 2025

    https://economist.com/leaders/2025/02/27/inheriting-is-becoming-nearly-as-important-as-working

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