Generational wealth in the U.S. is dramatically unequal by race: White and Asian households hold far more wealth, are much more likely to receive inheritances, and pass on much larger amounts than Black and Hispanic households. These differences are large enough that, on average, a typical White household has roughly an order of magnitude more wealth than a typical Black or Hispanic household, and this gap persists across generations.[1][2][3][4]
Together, these mechanisms mean that generational wealth is disproportionately concentrated in White (and, increasingly, Asian) families, while Black and Hispanic families both receive smaller transfers and face greater obstacles transforming those transfers into lasting wealth.[1][7][4]