Briefing

How Big Is the Inheritance Gap Between Black and White Families?


Abstract: One of the most striking differences between Black and White households is a large disparity in wealth. A potential source of this gap is differences in transfers of wealth within families through bequests or gifts. In this article, we document who receives such transfers and the distribution of transfers among those who receive them. Black individuals are much less likely to receive any inheritances or gifts. Black recipients receive smaller amounts and have a much lower probability of extremely large transfers.

Keywords: wealth-gap; African-American; wealth transfer;

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File(s): File format is text/html https://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/economic_brief/2022/eb_22-49
Description: Briefing

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Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Part of Series: Richmond Fed Economic Brief

Publication Date: 2022-12

Volume: 22

Issue: 49