O’Reilly: A lot of younger Americans ‘clueless about how to make money’

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Political commentator Bill O’Reilly on Tuesday criticized younger Americans for having, in his eyes, a lack of financial literacy.

“There are a lot of younger Americans who are absolutely clueless about how to make money, how to keep money, and about the capitalistic system,” O’Reilly told host Leland Vittert on NewsNation’s “On Balance.”

Earlier in the interview, O’Reilly recommended that young Americans attend community college or night school, become an Uber driver or “do whatever you have to do to build up your resources.”

In the first quarter of this year, the median weekly earnings of Americans from ages 20 to 24 was $810, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That amounts to $42,120 annually, before taxes.

The median weekly earnings for ages 25 to 34, meanwhile, was $1,140 in the first quarter of 2026, according to the BLS. That nets out to $59,280 per year, before taxes.

Polling also shows that many younger Americans are feeling financial strain. One in 10 young Americans are struggling to make ends meet, while 35 percent are getting by with little financial security, according to a Harvard Kennedy School survey from earlier this year.

While the same poll in 2021 found young Americans who expected to be better off than their parents had a 21-point edge over those who expected to be worse off, that advantage has fallen to just 3 percentage points in favor of the optimistic group.

The poll, conducted between March 26 and April 3, surveyed 2,018 respondents between 18 and 29 years old.

O’Reilly, though, argued Tuesday those who are “smart and disciplined” with their money “can participate in the capitalistic system.”

He added, “It’s a matter of options. We live in a country where there’s a tremendous amount of options. And if you’re not doing well, you can do other things.”

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Bill O'Reilly

Leland Vittert

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