Millennials are set to inherit more wealth than any previous generation and, contrary to popular misconceptions, they are also the most likely to use it well. About a third of Americans under the age 32 with $1 million of available assets to invest inherited their money. That contrasts with less than a quarter of Baby Boomers and Gen X’ers. At first, this may seem worrisome after all Millennials are the generation that grew up with an “everyone gets a trophy attitude” and who don’t understand the value of hard work. Luckily, however, the data seems to tell a different story.

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Better Savings

Survey after survey shows that Millennials do not believe the American Dream is a guarantee. That hard work may not be enough. This has caused them to save more, to plan for retirement and to even anticipate having to care for their parents. Millennials are overall more risk-averse and conservative with their money than any of the previous generations.

Social Good

Millennials were the first classes of children that required community service as a prerequisite to advance grades and graduate. They grew up and came of age in the post-9/11 world with a greater awareness of different peoples and cultures. These experiences influenced them to use their wealth for social good more so than any previous generation.

This influence can be seen in the marketing plans for most major corporations. Every company now donates to a cause or commits to ending a particular business practice. Millennials are altering capitalism to include social good as part of the cost-benefit analysis.

Active Investors

Millennials are also more apt to use actively invest their money. The structure of wealth has changed in the past 20 years. Families are more likely to have interests in private equity funds and to buy into IPOs the combination of which has resulted in extraordinarily liquid fortunes.

This liquidity allows Millennials the flexibility to shift their wealth. They utilize technology to actively manage their interests. Millennial entrepreneurs are no longer stuck in the traditional mom-and-pop stores. They can and do move their money around to maximize investments and business opportunities.

In short, Millenials are set to change the manner in which America utilizes its wealth. They are set to inherit more than any previous generation and to use that money in a very active and socially conscious manner.