The Great Boomer Fire Sale
Forget The Inheritance — Here's How Millennials Are Cashing In On Boomer Wealth
Americans over 50 own half of small businesses. The massive sell-off could be a $10 trillion opportunity for millennials.
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The Lede
Across the US, older business owners are arriving at the same juncture. Over half of small businesses — those with a single owner and fewer than 500 employees — are owned by people over 50. Those boomers can't retire and enjoy their sunset years until they figure out what to do with their businesses. Can a relative or longtime employee take over? Should they shut down? Or can they sell? For millennials with the entrepreneurial bug, this boomer retirement bomb could be a boon.
Key Details
- The wealth-management firm NewEdge Wealth has estimated that boomer-owned businesses in the US are worth about $10 trillion.
- The market research firm Forrester found in a survey it conducted last year that 64 percent of people buying businesses were millennials or younger.
- The upside of buying an existing small business, besides inheriting foundational elements — a brand, suppliers, systems, and customers — is that financing an acquisition is often easier than financing a brand-new business.
