The US economy is now reliant on older Americans like never before: Americans aged 55+ now represent 45.3% of all US consumer spending, the highest in at least 28 years. This is nearly DOUBLE the ~28.0% seen in the early 2000s. By comparison, those aged 54 and younger are down to just 54.7%, from ~72.0% in 2000. The gap between the two groups has narrowed by ~35 percentage points over the last 25 years and is on track to converge for the first time in history. This comes as 73.7% of all US wealth is held by those over 55, up from 56.2% in 2000, according to Fed data. The US wealth divide is accelerating.