Through the Great Wealth Transfer, $99.7 trillion will pass to younger generations by 2048. As investors, Millennials and Gen Z are far more likely to ensure their dollars have a positive social impact.

There is an unprecedented opportunity in the U.S. today to scale employee ownership—a shared ownership structure where employees own part or all of a business. Employee ownership is a powerful market-based solution that addresses racial wealth disparities, strengthens the small business economy, and creates generational wealth for many Americans who have been historically excluded. With the “silver tsunami” of baby boomer retirements on the horizon, roughly 3 million businesses are expected to change hands. If just 10% of all Silver Tsunami businesses ripe for EO transition could convert to employee-owned, this would sustain an estimated 57,000 small businesses and 2.6 million jobs, and create wealth for 8.2 million people.

The challenge lies in securing the capital needed to support these ownership transitions. That is where NextGen investors come in. According to a 2021 study by Deloitte, millennials and Gen Z “seem more persistent, more vocal, and more apt than others to question and even upset the status quo.” In a Bank of America study of investors under age 43, three-quarters own “sustainable assets.” Millennials, more than any generation before them, are investing in businesses that prioritize the greater good.

This recorded session was part of Ownership Capital Lab’s speaker series celebrating the release of our newest white paper, The Silver Tsunami, the Great Wealth Transfer and the future of employee ownership in the United States: Leveraging generational changes and shifting economics to scale a powerful model of shared prosperity (March, 2025).