Why the old are so wealthy – and it's not just because of hard work

It is obvious that the old should have more wealth than the young. But not to the extent we're seeing now, says Merryn Somerset Webb.

Senior couple enjoying day out on their bicycles - stock photo
(Image credit: Flashpop)

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Old people today don't know they're born

Whenever I write about generational inequality, I get cross letters from baby boomers telling me that they've worked hard and saved hard for their money. They may have ended up well off, they say, but anyone who puts in the same kind of hard graft as they have and saves along the way will end up just as well off.

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Merryn Somerset Webb

Merryn Somerset Webb started her career in Tokyo at public broadcaster NHK before becoming a Japanese equity broker at what was then Warburgs. She went on to work at SBC and UBS without moving from her desk in Kamiyacho (it was the age of mergers).

After five years in Japan she returned to work in the UK at Paribas. This soon became BNP Paribas. Again, no desk move was required. On leaving the City, Merryn helped The Week magazine with its City pages before becoming the launch editor of MoneyWeek in 2000 and taking on columns first in the Sunday Times and then in 2009 in the Financial Times

Twenty years on, MoneyWeek is the best-selling financial magazine in the UK. Merryn was its Editor in Chief until 2022. She is now a senior columnist at Bloomberg and host of the Merryn Talks Money podcast -  but still writes for Moneyweek monthly. 

Merryn is also is a non executive director of two investment trusts – BlackRock Throgmorton, and the Murray Income Investment Trust.