Inheritocracy

It’s Time to Talk About the Bank of Mum and Dad

By: Eliza Filby

Narrated by: Eliza Filby

Brought to you by Penguin.

The Sunday Times Bestseller!

Many of us grew up believing in a meritocracy, where hard work and a good education brings rewards. Go to university, get a job, put in the hours and things will be OK. That’s what we were told – but the reality is that life chances and opportunities are no longer shaped by what we learn or earn but by whether we have access to the Bank of Mum and Dad. We’re living in an inheritocracy, where parental support is what matters most – whether that’s covering the cost of university, stumping up for a house deposit or helping with childcare. And let’s be honest, this isn’t something we like to talk about with our friends, families or as a society. It’s a modern taboo.

In this timely and revealing book, generational expert Eliza Filby explores the emergence of this inheritocracy through her own life story, revealing how her family’s financial circumstances shaped everything from her education to her dating life, from her career to her class identity. Inheritocracy is a thought-provoking and candid blend of memoir and cultural commentary, told through Eliza’s humorous and insightful voice.

With trillions of pounds set to be passed down the generations over the next two decades, a significant divide is emerging between those who can rely on family wealth and those who can’t. Inheritocracy offers a fresh, captivating and honest look at our recent past and a future that will be shaped – for better or worse – by family fortunes.

© Eliza Filby 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critic reviews

A brilliant book

Witty and evidence-driven... offers a compelling analysis from start to finish

Both funny and important – it’s like a mash-up between Dolly Alderton and The Economist ... deserves to be read by every young person… and their parents

A very welcome book on one of the biggest social changes in Britain today ... Filby shows, with vivid personal examples, how this is transforming the relationship between successive generations

Inheritocracy is that most valuable thing: a subtle, thorough, insightful look at a subject we all tend to shy away from. Filby is by turns funny, informative and familiar; we’re lucky to have her

The historian and writer revolutionising our understanding of Britain's inheritance economy

admirably honest about a taboo ... packed with interviews

must read for our generation

as a Taiwanese late millennial women living in the US, I can't agree more that the BoMaD is so important to our generation. We really need to be more open about it, or else I feel so gaslit by some friends with generational wealth.

Replaced self-blame with clarity.

Essential if you want to have real talks about money. Very worth reading. Loved it. Informative. Eye-opening and also surprisingly reassuring.

Intriguing premise. Questionable presentation.

In a binary sense, Inheritocracy is worth a listen, but takes a commentary on a generation's relationship with wealth and distracts it with personal vignettes that too often feel off topic and strangely exhibitionist. Some will say it adds heart, but for me, it misses the mark. Just don't let the worst of this work stop you from appreciating its best, because it's in there.