The American Dream means something different to everyone who chases it, but a growing divide has emerged between generations on whether that dream remains attainable at all.
In a new CNBC Make It series marking the country’s 250th anniversary, voices spanning four generations — from a 26-year-old history writer to an 84-year-old content creator — shared their evolving definitions of success and opportunity in America today.
For Vivian Tu, the 32-year-old former Wall Street trader who runs the financial education brand Your Rich BFF, success has shifted from conventional markers of achievement to something more personal. She now measures her accomplishments by doing meaningful work and honoring the effort her parents invested in her, rather than chasing quantifiable wins to prove doubters wrong.
Gail Rudnick, 84, described living her American Dream in phases — first raising a close family, and now launching a second act as a content creator and podcast co-host alongside her 30-year-old granddaughter, Kim Murstein.
Sylvia Kwan, 62 and CEO of Ellevest, a women-focused financial planning platform, defined her version of the dream as rewriting life’s predetermined scripts and pursuing goals that once seemed impossible.
Young Americans Face Compounding Barriers
Yet experts interviewed for the series point to mounting challenges that distinguish today’s youngest workers from prior generations. Gen Z, currently aged 14 to 29, confronted pandemic-related disruptions to education and social development, then graduated into an unpredictable job market shadowed by housing affordability crises and persistent inflation.
Kahlil Greene, a 26-year-old history newsletter writer and social media creator who became Yale’s first Black student body president in 2019, expressed deep pessimism about the country’s direction. Greene said he worries the United States is on a downward trajectory and struggles to envision solutions despite wanting to try.
The obstacles feel insurmountable when it comes to fixing systemic problems, he explained.
Older Voices Counter With Resilience
Robert Reich offered a contrasting perspective. The 80-year-old University of California, Berkeley professor and former U.S. labor secretary told Greene he remains optimistic because of America’s historical resilience.
Reich said his age gives him the vantage point of having watched the country recover from depressions, wars, and other crises. He emphasized the importance of avoiding cynicism and maintaining hope, arguing that without it, people stop fighting to improve the nation.
The generational conversation, part of CNBC’s “The Next Dream” series, highlights how personal and societal challenges are forcing Americans to rethink what success and happiness look like 250 years after the nation’s founding. While some cling to optimism rooted in past triumphs, younger voices question whether the roadmap their predecessors followed still leads anywhere meaningful.
What hasn’t changed is the impulse to forge individual paths and define success on personal terms — even as the barriers to doing so multiply for those just starting out.
Source: www.cnbc.com — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/26/how-different-generations-are-rewriting-the-american-dream-today.html
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