$83 Trillion Wealth Transfer: The Largest in Modern History, Says UBS

Global banking giant UBS is sounding the alarm on an unprecedented shift in wealth. In a new report, the firm projects that $83 trillion in private wealth will be transferred to new beneficiaries over the next two to three decades. UBS calls this the 'largest transfer of wealth in modern history.'

Driven by aging demographics, longer life expectancies, and decades of rising asset prices, this shift is set to reshape the wealth landscape.

UBS Director and Strategist Libby Stantial says a little over a third of that massive transfer will occur in the United States alone: about $29 trillion.

Stantial explains that the transfer will happen both horizontally-between spouses-and vertically, from one generation to the next. But notably, the beneficiaries won't just be younger generations. Gen X and even some Baby Boomers are expected to receive wealth for the first time.

The key takeaway, Stantial says, is not about age, but about preparedness and responsibility.