Economic Tsunami: How the Great Wealth Transfer to Women & the Next Generation Changes Everything

A once-in-a-century financial shift is shaking the foundations of capitalism, and women, Gen Z, and Millennials are leading the aftershock.

In Economic Tsunami, award-winning journalist and executive Joan Bryna Michelson reveals the untold story behind the $83 to $124 trillion Great Wealth Transfer now moving from Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation into the hands of women and younger generations. This is far more than a redistribution of money; it’s a reprogramming of the global economy’s DNA, redefining leadership, work, wealth, and prosperity for decades to come.

For the first time in history, women will soon hold nearly half of all global wealth. Their values—rooted in sustainability, inclusion, and long-term impact—are already transforming investment strategies, corporate priorities, and social progress. As Ida Liu, CEO of HSBC Private Bank, notes, “It’s going to be one of the most powerful drivers of global prosperity in the coming decades.”

Drawing on hundreds of exclusive interviews with CEOs, investors, and policymakers, and extensive research, Michelson shows how these new “power brokers” are using wealth differently than their forebears did, and fueling innovation across education, healthcare, clean energy, technology, and philanthropy.

Inside this groundbreaking book, readers will discover:

• How the Great Wealth Transfer is transforming capitalism—from Wall Street to Main Street.
• How women and next-gen investors see money, wealth, philanthropy and investing.
• How leadership is evolving in response to these new stakeholders toward transparency, collaboration, and accountability.
• What companies, investors, nonprofits and policymakers must do to thrive in this new economy led by markets, investors, philanthropists and employees with different definitions of wealth.

Supported by research from UBS, Citi, McKinsey, and other global institutions, Economic Tsunami blends data, storytelling, and insight to offer both a warning and a roadmap for the future of business, work, and society.

If you want to understand the forces reshaping markets, leadership, and opportunity in the 21st century and your place within them, this is the book you can’t afford to miss.