A new study by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, the University of Cologne, GESIS, and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health examines how financial wealth changes as families go through different generational transitions. The findings show that people who become parents and grandparents later in life—and those who lose their parents later—tend to accumulate the most wealth.

By contrast, families with four living generations experience the smallest wealth gains. The study highlights how a person’s financial well-being is closely linked to life events such as the birth of grandchildren or the death of parents, with the overall family structure playing a key role.

Wealth is a major marker of social status, influencing access to education, healthcare, and career success. The researchers analyzed data from Norwegian registries, focusing on individuals born in 1953, to track how wealth changes with key family events. They looked at how timing—such as when people become parents or grandparents or lose their parents—affects long-term wealth accumulation.

Accumulation of wealth

The study found that those who become parents at 28, grandparents at 60, and lose their parents around the age of 60 tend to accumulate the most wealth. While childless people start out with less wealth by age 40, over time they tend to surpass those who had children and grandchildren earlier in life, especially if they lose their parents later on.

In fact, early parenthood and grandparenthood are the only patterns where wealth declines over time compared to other family types. Losing a parent later in life, typically in one’s mid-50s or later, is also linked to greater wealth, regardless of whether someone has children or grandchildren.

Families with four living generations see the smallest wealth gains or even declines. In contrast, childless people, especially those whose parents die later, experience the biggest wealth increases. The most financially stable group over time consists of three-generation families where family transitions happen later in life.

“A person’s wealth is shaped by several family events,” the authors explain. “Wealth is tied not only to individual life stages but also to broader family dynamics, such as the number of living relatives and how wealth is distributed across generations.”