• Millennials in the UK are rapidly increasing with many of them embracing crypto, entrepreneurship, and earning more in the tech sector.
• On the other hand, a lot of Baby Boomers now earn less and a lot of them are retiring early. 

UK Millennial and Gen Z millionaires have increased over the past year as Brit kids adopt crypto tech, and step into other booming industries. City A.M revealed that the number increased 100 percent from a record of 1,000 last year to 2,000. Bowmore Wealth Group has also reported an increase of 28 percent in millennials and Gen Z taxpayers. An income declaration of over £150,000 by 50,000 individuals has been made.

This is a significant increase from the 39,000 recorded last year. The sudden increase in the number of Millennials results from success in entrepreneurship and meme stock. Soccer players and social media influencers are also earning high by leveraging their social media following. The millionaires also consist of a high percentage of employees in high-pay technology and financial technology sectors and profitable financial services like private equity and investment banking.  

UK millennial millionaires surge due to crypto and entrepreneurship adoption

Entrepreneurs on this list include TransferWise CEO Kristo Kaarmann and Gymshark Founder Ben Francis. This set of Millennials have their businesses set up after success stories of other UK millennials. Speaking to City A.M., the CEO of Bowmore Wealth Group, Mark Incledon, explained that millennials are at the stage where they earn more than in the past years. He advised that these young millionaires save “as they possibly can” for retirement. Incledon continued by stating the need for UK millennial millionaires to invest in other forms of traditional investments other than crypto. 

During the lockdown, we’ve seen that more millennials are considering their financial future and putting money to work by investing. Instead of putting all their assets into risky assets like cryptocurrencies or meme stocks, they must follow simple, straightforward steps when investing. This includes having a diversified portfolio across geographies, sectors, and asset classes.

Unlike Millennial millionaires, some Boomers now earn less than they used to, while others retire. The lowest income has been declared more recently than previous ones. There is a declaration of £1m by 6000 Boomers, down from 7000, in 2021. At the same time, the number of Boomers that declared income of over £150,000 has dropped from 131,000 to 120,000. As it stands, all figures are their lowest in the last five years. A high percentage of Boomers have chosen to leave the job market during the pandemic and start their retirement earlier.

Boomers lack knowledge about crypto

Moreso, in a fast-paced digital world, Boomers do not own or understand digital assets. Most of them do not understand the concept of crypto, unlike the UK millennials who have become millionaires through digital assets.

As of February 2022, £812m worth of investment is in Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs). Bowmore believes that high-income earners with a higher risk tolerance should consider using task reliefs by investing in growth companies through VCTs. In his opinion, savers should maximize the use of ISAs, which allows saving up to £20,000 per year tax-free.