Yardeni Calls US a G-Shaped Economy as Boomers Control $89.6 Trillion in Assets

2 articles · Updated · Business Insider · May 27

Ed Yardeni said older Americans—not just top earners broadly—are anchoring US growth by spending heavily and subsidizing younger relatives facing an affordability squeeze.
Baby boomers hold $89.6 trillion, about half of US household wealth, and spent an average $69,303 in 2023, with Yardeni linking them to record recreation and housing-related outlays.
Healthcare hiring also reflects that demographic pull: private education and healthcare added 618,000 jobs in the year through April while all other sectors together lost 367,000.
Support is flowing down the age ladder as well—70% of millennials and Gen Z respondents in a 2026 survey said they borrowed from family for basic expenses, and 18% of 25-to-34-year-olds lived with a parent last year.
Yardeni argues those transfers put a floor under aggregate consumption from below even as retirees' own spending drives demand from above, creating what he calls a "G-shaped" economy.

Baby Boomers are fueling today's economy, but is their spending spree setting up the US for a future demographic cliff?

With their wealth propping up the economy, how are Baby Boomers themselves preparing for the looming Social Security funding crisis?

The 'Great Wealth Transfer' is valued at $124 trillion. Why might it fail to solve the financial crisis facing younger generations?