Whether you’re in the non-profit or for-profit industry, millennials, those between the ages of 24 and 40, are likely not the last group you think of as being wealthy. While only 12% of the world’s population of ultra-high net worth individuals, those with a net worth of $30m and more, are under the age of 50. Millennials are in fact a growing and influential proportion of the wealthy.
It can take many years, if not decades, to build substantial wealth. Most of the ultra-wealthy are between the ages of 50 and 70 and it is those individuals over 70, who hold the highest percentage of wealth.
With most of the ultra wealthy over the age of 50, why should your business or nonprofit invest in younger populations, including millennial millionaires?
The millennial generation will continue to grow and become a larger proportion of the wealthy as the baby boomer generation continues to decrease. In the future, many of your wealthy patrons and donors will be those who are currently millennials.
Despite the pandemic and its economic impact, the wealth of ultra high net worth individuals grew by 2% in 2020. With the heightened digitalization from remote working and online shopping in 2020, wealthy individuals under the age of 50 saw the most financial growth. The wealth of millennial millionaires contributed to two-thirds of the total ultra high net worth wealth growth, the largest of any age group.
Investing in millennial millionaires now has the potential to pay off big in the future. However, many organizations do not yet have this minority of wealthy on their radar as potential donors or investors. Taking the time to build relationships with them now will make them loyal donors or patrons later.
When you become familiar with their passions and interests, valuable relationship-building forms. Over time, millennial millionaires will keep your organization at top of mind. This increases the likelihood of them supporting you when they accumulate more wealth.
How do you engage with wealthy millennials? Like their non-high-net-worth counterparts, those between the ages of 25 and 40 have unique interests.
Who Are Millennial Millionaires?
Very high net worth millennials, those with a net worth between $5m and $30m and those with ultra-high-net-worth, $30M+ have a different makeup than the older wealth cohorts. Some key observations about the characteristics of wealthy millennials include:
The wealthy millennial VHNW group features the highest concentration of women.
For most millennial VHNW individuals, their wealth is self-made.
Over a fifth of VHNW millionaires have gained their wealth through the banking and finance industry.
The Interests of Millennial Millionaires
The interests of very-high-net-worth and ultra-high net worth millennials vary from their older counterparts. The amount of wealth accumulated, and life stage are the two biggest reasons for this difference.
Despite the millennials’ modest share, examining their current interests provides an insight into emerging trends and the likely interests of the future wealthy.
VHNW millennial interests differ significantly from those of the general VHNW population.
These millennials’ top 10 interests include travel, music, food and animals, none of which feature among the leading pursuits of the general VHNW population.
Sports, technology and travel come top.
Sports, technology and travel are more important to VHNW millennials compared to the rest of the population, and there is a much higher degree of engagement. This is likely a reflection of the group’s interests but also of the advantages of their age and relative health. Technology also ranks much higher with VHNW millennials than non-millennials, with younger individuals more likely to be involved with tech innovation in their leisure time and working lives.
Millennial Millionaires are also expanding on their interest in travel and entering the world of private aviation. A Wealth-X Spotlight on Private Jet Owners finds younger wealthy are more interested in owning very light and large private jets.
Very light jets are typically the entry point for first-time plane owners. As one accumulates more wealth, they tend to buy larger planes. Some millennials (especially those with inherited wealth) go straight for the large jets if they can afford one.
Philanthropy is important but comes lower down the list than for older VHNW individuals.
Millennial Millionaires are likely to be focusing on their careers at this stage of their Lives. As their net worth rises with their age, and they choose to spend a greater proportion of time on more personal and emotive ambitions — such as creating a legacy and giving back to society — we find this interest tends to increase in popularity.
Causes Millennials Care About
Millennial millionaires are generous donors. According to a Wealth Engine report, 56% have donated to charities. This number is higher compared to the 35% of non-wealthy millennials who donate to causes.
This growing populations is more likely to make significant donations to charity now, rather than waiting to accumulate more wealth. Some of the causes wealthy millennials care about include:
- Education
- Civil rights/racial discrimination
- Employment/job creation
- Healthcare reform
- Climate change
- Immigration
- Wages
- Poverty and homelessness
- Mental health and social services
- Women’s rights
- Criminal justice reform
- Early education
- Sexual orientation-based rights
- Literacy
Wealthy millennials give to nonprofits that earn their trust by being transparent. For them, a sign of trust includes being informed as to how their contributions help make an impact. If they don’t know how their donations are being used to meet a need, 75% of millennials will stop giving.
Besides making online monetary donations, millennial millionaires are more likely to be activists. Instead of using social media, millennials will participate in marches and contact their local representatives to bring about change. More than any other generation, wealthy millennials can put themselves into the shoes of others who are different from them.
Engage Millennial Millionaires Now
While millennials make up the smallest segment of very-high and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, they should not be overlooked. Millennials will become the largest proportion of the wealthy, and their interests, the causes they care about, and their giving practices should not be overlooked. Businesses and nonprofit organizations who want to succeed must build relationships with these individuals now.
Connecting with millennial millionaires can be a challenge for any for-profit or nonprofit organization. Wealth Intelligence solutions like WealthEngine can help by providing valuable insight and expertise in building relationships with the wealthy.
WealthEngine’s proprietary wealth screening platform makes it possible for you to personalize your donor targeting strategy by using advanced data analytics from 60 sources to search 300 million profiles and 122 million households. WealthEngine compiles the insights gathered from this data into its user-friendly Wealth Signal™ feature—a visual indicator that displays a prospective donor’s income, real estate holdings, net worth, estimated giving capacity, donation history, and personal network. The Propensity to Give (P2G) score is a proprietary tool that indicates the individual’s propensity for general philanthropic giving.
Using WealthEngine’s wealth screening tools allows you to pinpoint prospects most aligned with the values and mission of your charitable organization and most likely to be willing to support its endeavors. Learn how WealthEngine can help take your fundraising initiatives to the next level by requesting a free demo today.