There is lots of chatter about the massive, well over $100 trillion generational wealth transfer that has already started and will continue for the next two decades. But is generational wealth transfer anything new?

While the number of global billionaires has increased notably, it's still around a paltry 3,000, a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the world's population. One stat from UBS' fawning report on this tiny group is important to note:  Of the world’s 2,919 billionaires, 2,059 are self-made and 860 inherited their wealth, almost 30%.  In the past year, 91 US people became billionaires through inheritance, receiving nearly $300 billion in wealth. Next-Gen wealth is expanding here and everywhere

Is inherited wealth something new? Hardly!  For the year 2000, 41% of the Forbes 400 list had inherited their wealth, 36% more than the wealthiest 3,000 today! It is the volume of wealth transfer and the fact that it will be much more broadly re-distributed that is noteworthy. Today, those in the US that are invested in the stock market is 2% higher than it was in 2000 but the DOW was 11,068 at the start of 2000 and today it's approaching 48,000. The median price of a home in the US in 2000 was $119,600, while today it's around $415,000.

So what is new about the wealth transfer of today, besides it simply being lots more money?  Lots more of this money will go into private hands as many people, especially wealthier people, become more sophisticated around minimizing inheritance taxes. 25 Years ago in 2000, the U.S. federal estate tax exemption (the amount an estate could be worth before being subject to federal tax) was $675,000. There was no federal "inheritance tax" (a tax on the recipient of an inheritance) in 2000. The federal government only imposed an estate tax, which was paid by the estate itself. Today that exemption is almost $14 million for individuals, $28 million for couples. A few states collect inheritance taxes too at lower thresholds, which may explain why those states lose so many wealthier retirees. Penny wise, pound foolish?