Report: Missourians to transfer $134B of wealth in next decade

An Alliance of Missouri Community Foundations report released today estimates benefactors statewide will transfer $134 billion of wealth to their heirs and others during the next decade.

During that time frame, Ozarks members of the World War II-era generation and the first wave of baby boomers are estimated to hand down $47.2 billion in accumulated wealth, according to a Community Foundation of the Ozarks news release.

The study, dubbed Wealth in Missouri and its Counties, represents a partnership between the statewide alliance - including CFO - and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

During the next 50 years, analysts predict Missourians will transfer $1.5 trillion to heirs and others, while Ozarks residents would pass down $565 billion, the release said.

“If we don’t use this historic opportunity to encourage the people who built our communities to help sustain them for the generations that follow, we stand to lose resources that will never be replaced,” CFO President Brian Fogle said in the release. “Keeping wealth achieved in the Ozarks for the future benefit of the Ozarks fits well with our culture of self reliance.”

The alliance's goal is to encourage donors to put away 5 percent of their savings for philanthropic endeavors. If that was done in the Ozarks, an estimated $2.3 billion would go toward charitable causes during the next decade, according to the release.

CFO held a news conference this morning to discuss the findings and potential impact of the report.

Former City Manager Tom Finnie said at the news conference that he was inspired by his father, who set up a scholarship fund at the University of Kentucky years ago, to continue a legacy of giving through CFO.

He said his now-deceased wife always loved dogwood trees, so he worked to adopt a dogwood designated area near the Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center. He said he was encouraged by CFO to set aside 5 percent of his estate to keep the dogwood section in place for years to come.

“I thought, ‘5 percent – that’s not that much,’” Finnie said. “I thought if I put more money into that fund, it could go on forever. … So, I put into my will adding an amount of money so it could continue that dogwood garden.

“That dogwood garden in my wife’s name will be a contribution I can make to this community, not just for my life, but for generations after.”