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COTTAGE INDUSTRY: Many homes with stairways to entry will need to be redesigned to accommodate seniors who want to age in place in coming years.
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Those over 50 account for more than one-third of the U.S. population, half of all consumer spending, and 83% of household wealth. That should make catering to the aging population a lucrative opportunity for entrepreneurs and investors—one that could be akin to investing in the software boom in the 1980s or internet in the 1990s.
That was the takeaway from aging experts and investors at a virtual panel discussion on Monday at the 2020 Century Summit held by the Longevity Project and the Stanford Center on Longevity.
The 50-plus set represents an $8.3 trillion market opportunity in the U.S. and $22 trillion globally, said Susan Golden, a former venture capitalist and public health expert who is now an adjunct professor at Stanford