Wealthy Millenial Women Earning As Much As Or More Than Their Partners.

robjvargas said:

Interesting article from CNNMoney. Of course, it's measuring a fairly specific type of woman.


Very interesting. I hope that filters down.

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I'm not a wealthy woman... but we're comfortable, and I bring in the bigger share of income. He has more free time, so he pays all the bills and moves the money around, but all the decisions are made together. So I guess we're anecdotal evidence of filtering down?

From the article:

The report is based on a national survey of 640 high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth adults, 16% of whom identified as Millennials.

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High net worth and ultra-high net worth means people with over $1 million in assets and over $30 million in assets, respectively. This isn't necessarily a trend or a pattern at all. The manner of accumulation matters here, greatly.

And things change over time. People move through life stages, children grow up, career paths change, etc. It's kinda pointless to compare people by generational groupings at this specific moment, again with regard to trends or patterns.

In short, there's nothing here to filter down.

I call bullhockey.

The report is based on a national survey of 640 high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth adults

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In a world where the population numbers in the BILLIONS... even in a country where the population numbers in the 100 MILLIONS, how can ANYONE get excited over a survey of 640 people. Even if you take into account the $1-$3 million threshold, it still means nothing based on % surveyed to % of population.

Gilroy Cullen said:

I call bullhockey.



In a world where the population numbers in the BILLIONS... even in a country where the population numbers in the 100 MILLIONS, how can ANYONE get excited over a survey of 640 people. Even if you take into account the $1-$3 million threshold, it still means nothing based on % surveyed to % of population.

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No, the t-stat on n=640 is small enough to work with. The thresholds on net worth are what makes this a not so meaningful analysis.

That's nice. But I certainly didn't feel any 'filter down' when I'd been working five years at a shop, and was competent enough at what I did that various clients asked for me specifically to be put on their projects. I was still getting paid less than every young man with a drug or alcohol problem who stumbled into the shop looking for work. And I was paid way less than the older, more mature men, even though I helped train them.

Xelebes said:

No, the t-stat on n=640 is small enough to work with. The thresholds on net worth are what makes this a not so meaningful analysis.

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It's not just that, it's also the nature of the comparisons being made re generational groupings. Again, they're in the moment. What were the numbers like 10 years ago, for instance?

The survey says 31% of millennial women are the "dominant decision makers" when it comes to finance. Allowing that millennials are...what, people born after 1984 and before 1998 (I really don't know)? Then we're talking about women 18-30 years old. So, what percentage of high or ultra high net worth women aged 18-30 were dominate decision makers in 2005? In 1995? In 1985? Because that the only meaningful comparison, with regard to trends and the like. The whole millennial/gen-x/baby boomer schtick is tiresome, imo.

It may very well be the case that this percentage has increased. Hardly a shocking thing. Still, eighteen year olds with $30 million in assets are not exactly typical.

So female 1%ers get to make their own financial decisions. Yay them. Money is power.

I don't see this as proof of female financial independence changing from generation to generation; it's just further evidence that people with money are decision makers.

I would be curious to know what careers these women have (and what careers their partners have).

Also, it doesn't really surprise me that very wealthy young women are making a lot of financial decisions. It's becoming more common for women (even those born into wealthy families) to have their own assets as a result of their careers, as opposed to only being wealthy because of their family's or husband's money. And when someone has a very lucrative career, they're going to be protective of that success. Hence why the rich and famous often use pre-nups.

jennontheisland said:

So female 1%ers get to make their own financial decisions. Yay them. Money is power.

I don't see this as proof of female financial independence changing from generation to generation; it's just further evidence that people with money are decision makers.

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This was basically my reaction. Not shocking, not a broad-based shift in financial matters or gender roles.

If you're a woman making a high income, either you're going to date some people who make less than you do, or you're going to sharply limit your dating pool. And you probably aren't going to meekly hand control of your money to your partner. I've had a couple of boyfriends who made half (or less than half -- one made less than a quarter) of my income. If I were to marry, no way does hubby get to control my purse strings. And I'm not a zillionaire or a millennial.

I'm guessing women with high incomes, from whatever generation, have tended to control their own incomes for a while now.