Having wealth runs in the family

Young adults with the richest parents are typically around six times as wealthy themselves as those who come from the poorest families, according to analysis.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) explored the impact that wealthier parents have on transferring economic advantages on to their children in the UK. By the time they were aged in their 30s, people born in the 1970s and 1980s, with parents in the wealthiest fifth in their generation, had average net wealth of £107,000, the think-tank said.

This was around six times the £18,000 held by those with parents in the poorest fifth in terms of wealth.

People with wealthier parents also tend to save more. They may receive more transfers and capital income on top of their earnings, and so are able to save some of this additional income.

Those with wealthier parents are also more likely to hold higher-risk, higher-return investments such as stocks and shares.