Gen Z is stepping into new wealth; the young generation amassed $9 trillion in income back in 2023, and by 2030, their earnings are expected to shoot up to $36 trillion. And in spending their riches, the 20-somethings are already snapping up fine art and luxe collectibles. Last year Gen Z spent twice as much on art compared to every other generation, according to recent data from Swiss bank UBS—and a fine arts expert says their buying habits are reshaping the market.
“There are a lot of people now that have a lot of money and they don’t know what to do with it,” Anita Heriot, president of The Fine Art Group Americas, told leadership editor Claire Zillman onstage at Fortune’s annual Most Powerful Women conference in Santa Barbara, California.
“I’m talking about a lot of the tech, sudden-wealth scenarios, and they buy what looks cool, and they don’t really think about [it],” she continued. “They don’t think about price.”
Heriot said they pay no mind to price tags, as they don’t know how to understand the value around the world. Gen Zers have been spending big on dinosaur bones, sneakers, $20 million Pokémon cards, the art executive explained. Beyond collectibles, she’s seen that young buyers have a strong interest in artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Plus, they’re far less picky about how they snatch up multimillion-dollar art. Historically, older generations went in-person to art galleries or auctions to view pieces before deciding to put in an offer. But Gen Zers are just fine growing their collections from behind a laptop; when the COVID-19 shutdown forced them to stay at home, online bidding shot up 450%, Heriot said.
“So, this generation, they don’t mind buying off a JPEG. If it looks cool on a computer, they’ll buy it,” the The Fine Art Group president said. She believes Gen Zers are outspending all others due to their online shopping habits, and a “desire to start spending” their sudden wealth.
The young generation’s interest in art will be no passing fad—but what they put within that category could shift, according to Heriot. While they may be buying up paintings and luxe collectables now, she predicts that they’ll seek out items that remind them of their youth, just like generations before them. Baby boomers bought up cars from the 60s, Heriot noted, hoping to reconnect with the experiences from their memories. She explained that it’s typical for people to “buy heavy” into that period of their culture. 1990s and 2000s-era items like the iPhone Classics or Xbox could become big-money items as Gen Zers age and yearn for that nostalgia.
“I think it’s important to look at art with a big ‘A.’ I think there’s going to be a huge interest in those objects that they grew up with,” the executive explained. “For instance, we’re seeing a huge interest in buying Audis. Like, who’s buying an old Audi from 1982? They are. So that’s what we’re starting to see, and I think we’ll continue to see that.”
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