I suspect that a large part of that has to do with student loans, which have grown by a huge multiple since 1996. With compounding interest it takes longer to recover from school.
I know I graduated with $75k loans at 8% interest. Even with say, a $100k salary, just the interest eats ~7% of the income. With the total payments being somewhere around 12% of your income. Combine that with increased taxes over the same time and a 34% reduction in worth seems about right (if we account for the loss in compounding interest from buying a home, 401k investments, etc)
I know I graduated with $75k loans at 8% interest. Even with say, a $100k salary, just the interest eats ~7% of the income. With the total payments being somewhere around 12% of your income. Combine that with increased taxes over the same time and a 34% reduction in worth seems about right (if we account for the loss in compounding interest from buying a home, 401k investments, etc)