Much has been said of the increasing gap between rich and poor. But the past quarter-century has also seen a greatly increased gap between people under 35 and people over 65. A newly released report from Pew Social Trends highlights this: between 1984 and 2009, the average net worth of an under 35 actually fell by 68% (despite the massive booms that are meant to have taken place during that time). The average net worth of an over 65 increased by 42%.
To put it another way, the average American over 65 in 1984 had 10 times the net worth of an American under 35. In 2009, he or she had 47 times the net worth of an American under 35. The figures were not much different in 2005, before the financial crisis began, although the effect of the crisis has been to increase the gap further in percentage terms. See the handy-dandy charts after the jump.
What are the primary reasons for this increased gap?