Baby Boomers are still Australia's wealthiest generation in terms of overall net worth (around $2.31M average), holding the most cash and deposits, but Generation X (Gen X) has recently overtaken them in property wealth, owning more valuable homes, while also holding more in shares, signaling a significant wealth shift towards Gen X, say KPMG and Property Update analysis.
Baby boomers, Australia's richest generation, are expected to hand over $3.5 trillion to younger generations over the coming decades, largely via inheritance. This great wealth transfer is going to make an enormous impact in the coming years by reordering the wealth distribution in society.
Baby Boomers (those born between 1946-1964, or aged 61-79 in 2025) stand out as the wealthiest generation in history.
While exact real-time figures vary, recent analyses suggest hundreds of thousands of Australians hold over $1 million in superannuation, though it's a minority, with estimates from around 2021 pointing to over 400,000 people, a number that has grown significantly due to investment returns, though many still don't reach this milestone. About 2.5% of the population held >$1 million in super as of mid-2021 (around 417,000 people), with forecasts indicating a larger number, while projections suggest over 10% of women and 15% of men retiring by 2060 could reach this goal, and recent studies highlight that a large majority (around 94%) of retirees don't hit $1 million.
According to ABS data, just 2.61 million Aussies – or about 10 per cent of the population – earn $100,000 or more a year. Many people will never reach a six-figure income in their working lives.
The middle class falls in-between. In 2022 the median income in Australia was $65,000 a year according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Anyone making less than this amount would be considered working class. Anyone making more than $137,000 falls in the top 10% which is considered upper class.
Most Americans Earn Far Less Than $100k
According to last year's YouGov data, only 18% of U.S. adults earn more than $100,000 annually. And the biggest earners are mostly men—25%—and those aged 35 to 44—25%. For comparison, just 12% of women make six figures.
A wealthy retiree in Australia is generally someone with substantial assets, often defined as having over $1 million in investable assets (excluding the family home) or a total net worth exceeding that, allowing for a very comfortable lifestyle well above basic needs, potentially generating $150,000+ annual income, though "wealthy" is relative, with many considering >$1M or a significant super balance as rich.
This is as current as it gets. If you lower the bar to $1 million in retirement savings, only 2.5% of households cross that line. Among actual retirees, it's just 3.2%. So while the $2 million dream makes headlines, very few actually live it.
The short answer: to retire on $80,000 a year in Australia, you'll need a super balance of roughly between $700,000 and $1.4 million. It's a broad range, and that's because everyone's circumstances are different.
Baby Boomers faced high inflation and interest rates but could access affordable housing. Gen X navigated economic uncertainty but still found reasonable property prices. Gen Y pioneered the digital economy while watching housing slip away. Gen Z inherits technological advantages but faces unprecedented housing costs.
Donald Trump is a Baby Boomer, born on June 14, 1946, making him one of the first in that generation, which typically spans 1946-1964; the Silent Generation precedes this, generally from 1925-1945, with President Joe Biden representing the latter. While Trump shares some traits with the broader Boomer demographic, his formative experiences as a wealthy individual diverged from many of his peers, though he later became a significant political figure for many in the generation.
Millennials will be inheriting the most ($46 trillion) of any generation over the course of the next 25 years. However, Gen X stands to inherit the greatest portion of assets in the next 10 years, totaling $14 trillion to Millennials' $8 trillion, the report further advises.
Wealth Distribution By Generation
Gina Rinehart is consistently ranked as Australia's richest person, primarily through her mining and pastoral empire, Hancock Prospecting, with significant wealth from iron ore, though figures vary slightly by publication. Other top families/individuals include the Pratt family (manufacturing, Visy), Mike Cannon-Brookes & Scott Farquhar (Atlassian tech), and the Forrest family (mining).
The rarest birthdays in Australia are February 29 (Leap Day), followed by public holidays like Christmas Day (Dec 25), Boxing Day (Dec 26), New Year's Day (Jan 1), and Australia Day (Jan 26), with December being the least common month overall for births, as obstetricians often avoid scheduling non-emergency C-sections or inductions on holidays.
Can you live off interest of 2 million dollars? Yes, it is possible to live off $2 million in invested assets if you manage your portfolio wisely. A common approach is to invest the money in an index fund to generate interest and dividends.
The median savings are much lower: Federal Reserve data shows that 65 to 74-year-olds have a median of $164,000 in their retirement accounts. In other words, half of that age group has less than $164,000, and half have more. The median for those 75 and older is $83,000.
The biggest retirement mistake is often failing to plan adequately, which includes underestimating expenses (especially healthcare), ignoring inflation's impact on purchasing power, not starting savings early enough to benefit from compound interest, and leaving retirement savings in the wrong place (like not converting super to a tax-free pension), leading to running out of money or living a constrained lifestyle. A lack of a clear budget, not understanding investment options, and neglecting lifestyle/purpose planning also rank high.
Australians aged between 60-64 have an average super balance of $401,600 for men and $300,300 for women1. The Government Age Pension acts as a safety net to support the basic cost of living in retirement. However, it's still important to have a figure in mind as your ideal retirement savings goal.
Yes, you can likely retire at 70 with $800,000, but it depends heavily on your annual spending, investment returns, and eligibility for government support like the Age Pension, potentially supporting a modest to comfortable lifestyle, though a very high-spending one might require more capital, according to wealthlab.com.au, Toro Wealth and Frontier Financial Group. Using the "4% Rule", $800,000 could provide around $32,000/year initially, but factoring in the Age Pension and lower expenses (like no mortgage/work costs) can make it stretch further, possibly supporting a single person's $44k-$50k/year needs.
Most In-Demand Skills for 2026 and Beyond
Here's where you should move to make your $100,000 salary go the furthest, in descending order.
Once you are aware of your salary every month, you should set aside a particular % of it for savings after spending on needs and wants, as per the 50-30-20 budget rule. This will ensure that you are saving at least 20% of your salary every month.