Averages are kind of meaningless. The article does mention that median net worth also rose for people under 35, but it doesn’t give the numbers. Probably because the median numbers are considerably lower than the average. But even the median numbers wouldn’t’ tell the whole story. Net worth has gone up for people who own certain assets that have appreciated in value over recent years, like houses and stocks. Means nothing to those who don’t own any of those assets, and the more the value of assets goes up, the higher the barrier of entry will get for anyone looking to acquire such assets in an effort to improve their own wealth. It’s also worth mentioning that some people think we are in an asset bubble, and if that bubble were to pop, especially housing, people’s net worth would decline, maybe even significantly.
Frankly, I think we need to stop worrying about wealth and start carrying about well being.