The 100 Trillion Dollar Wealth Transfer: How the Handover from Boomers to Gen Z Will Revolutionize Capitalism

In this unconvincing screed, Costa (Strange Kingdom), chairman of the Helios Fairfax private equity group, makes a confused plea for harmony between baby boomers and zennials, his term for millennials and zoomers. Though Costa calls on both cohorts to collaborate and “truly do things as co-equals,” it becomes clear he’s actually asking boomers to “curb” zennials’ leftist leanings before they incite “an extinction-level event for capitalism.” Costa’s condescending tone toward zennials is unlikely to further his ostensible aim of bridging the generations; for instance, he dismisses the popularity of leftist politics among young people as a vindictive response to the 2008 financial crisis: “There are many reasons why you feel justifiably hard done.... Don’t let this sense of injustice harden your heart and embitter you.” Costa doesn’t bother providing proof for his sweeping generalizations, as when he claims zennials’ vision of community “lacks the ideals and transcendent experience” of organized religion that shaped previous generations. What little evidence he does marshal doesn’t persuade; for instance, he cites an open letter signed by Elon Musk calling for a moratorium on AI development as an example of the older generation’s restraint, apparently oblivious to Musk’s own AI startup, announced four months after the letter went public. Patronizing and short on evidence, this doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. (Jan.)