With Great Wealth Comes a Great Divide in Social Consciousness
Younger millionaires feel a much stronger sense of personal responsibility to use fortunes to benefit broader society than do their older peers.
Impact investing—putting money to use with an eye not just on financial returns but on bringing about social or environmental change—is a hot topic. It may also be a divisive topic among different generations of wealth, according to a new report.
The survey, commissioned by RBC Wealth Management, reached 1,051 individuals around the world with at least U.S. $1 million in assets; 365 were in the U.S. It asked how strongly respondents agreed or disagreed with the statement: “I feel a personal responsibility for my wealth to benefit broader society.”
While only 8 percent of U.S. millionaires 64 and older strongly agreed, more than three times as many Gen X and millennial millionaires did—27 percent. Only 9 percent of younger millionaires chose “strongly disagree,” compared with 21 percent of older millionaires.