The question of reward and continuity is central to how God manages the world. True success is defined by its ability to endure across generations, whereas apparent evil ultimately serves the purposes of the good. A good person establishes a legacy that reaches beyond their immediate family to their grandchildren. The primary approach among commentators is that this refers to the successful transfer of material wealth and property to future generations, a privilege denied to those who do wrong.
Yet, this legacy is not purely physical. A good person also passes down the enduring merit of the Commandments and good deeds they performed [רש״י, אלשיך]. The reward for even a single Commandment is immense and continues to yield benefits long after the act is done. Furthermore, the concept of descendants extends to students, allowing a wise individual to pass down their wisdom and glory to those they teach [עמנואל הרומי]. This generational view of inheritance helps explain a profound aspect of how God operates. At times, a righteous person may suffer in life and appear to miss out on their rightful reward. In truth, God is carefully preserving that reward to bestow it upon their future descendants [מלבי״ם].
The fate of the wicked stands in sharp contrast. While they may amass great wealth and power, they will not succeed in passing these assets down, even to their own children. Instead, God hides and preserves the sinner's fortune [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ] so that it can eventually be handed over to a righteous person. A classic example of this is the estate of Haman, which was ultimately given to Mordechai [רש״י]. This dynamic explains why people who do wrong sometimes experience temporary peace and financial success. They are merely acting as temporary guardians over their riches until the righteous arrive to rightfully claim them [מלבי״ם].
Beyond the physical transfer of money, there are two deeper spiritual dimensions to the righteous inheriting the wealth of the wicked. The first relates to the afterlife. In paradise, a righteous person receives not only their own designated reward but also inherits the portion that was originally meant for the sinner, which the sinner forfeited through their bad choices [אלשיך]. The second dimension is deeply psychological. The strength of the sinner represents the soul's raw lustful drives and negative inclinations. For the righteous person, these exact same intense forces are mastered by the intellect and redirected entirely toward serving God [עמנואל הרומי].