Opinion | How generational wealth transfer will reshape China’s economy

China’s generational wealth transfer will involve more than assets changing hands; it will reconfigure capital markets and global financial power

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A woman reacts for a photo near the words “Get Rich” in Beijing on January 15. Photo: AP

Published: 4:30pm, 20 Jan 2026Updated: 6:42pm, 20 Jan 2026

The largest wealth transfer in history will accelerate the tilt of economic influence to the East as investment priorities change and women – who are set to inherit a growing share of assets – gain financial clout. The implications will ripple across geopolitics, financial markets and fiscal policies.

Financial research firm Cerulli predicts that globally, an estimated US$124 trillion is expected to change hands by 2048. The 2023 Hurun Wealth Report estimated that heirs in China will receive US$11.8 trillion over 30 years, a sum approaching China’s projected 2025 nominal GDP of US$19.5 trillion.

Unprecedented demographic trends worldwide underpin this generational shift as people are living longer and birth rates are dropping. Those over 65 will form a greater share of the population, with China among the world’s fastest-ageing economies. Its 65-plus demographic could reach 30 per cent by 2050, double the current level.

Much of the personal wealth in China was amassed by first-generation entrepreneurs. Family businesses and their founders have powered China’s rapid economic rise, compressing generations of growth into a single era, a trend seen throughout the Asia-Pacific.

Private companies deliver 60 per cent of China’s GDP, with family-owned firms making up two-thirds of listings on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges. How, and to whom, control is passed will steer China’s economic trajectory towards growth, decline or a middle path.

A 2014 report noted that the richest 1 per cent of Chinese households controlled a third of the nation’s wealth. A 2023 study found that the personal wealth share going to the top 1 per cent exceeds the wealth going to the bottom 50 per cent by five times, though some researchers believe this concentration has peaked.

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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}China’s generational wealth transfer will involve more than assets changing hands; it will reconfigure capital markets and global financial power

China’s generational wealth transfer will involve more than assets changing hands; it will reconfigure capital markets and global financial power