Alice Walton speaks at the 2022 Getty Medal Dinner at the Getty Center on October 3, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Stephanie Keenan | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide for high-net-worth investors and consumers. Sign up To receive future editions delivered directly to your inbox.
As women’s share of global wealth increases, they make up a larger share of the billionaire class and have set out a new set of goals and philanthropies, a new report shows.
According to data on the world’s 3,323 billionaires, 13% (or 431) of them are women Alterata Billionaire Census. Although this number seems small, their number and share have been gradually growing over the past 10 years.
“The growth of female entrepreneurship, slow changes in cultural attitudes, and the increasing frequency of intergenerational transfers of wealth” will continue to exacerbate the feminization of the three-comma club, the report said.
Inheritance is the most powerful driver. According to the report, three-quarters of today’s 431 female billionaires have inherited some of their wealth. Altrata said 38% of people inherited their entire wealth, including the three richest women in the world: Alice Walton ($104 billion), Julia Flesher Koch ) and his family ($76 billion) and Françoise Bettencourt Meyers ($73 billion). In comparison, only 5% of male billionaires inherited their wealth.
One in four female billionaires are self-made, compared with 66% of male billionaires. These legacies may become more common. As part of a great wealth transfer, women are expected to inherit up to $30 trillion over the next decade, according to a report from Cerulli Associates.
Male and female billionaires also differ in their giving and spending. For example, women are more interested in nonprofits and social organizations, the report said.
Nearly one in five female billionaires spend the majority of their career working in nonprofits, compared with 5% of male billionaires. The report says the prevalence of inheritance among women is a major reason for the focus on philanthropy, as they tend to have “lower business commitments” and “there is often a strong link between inherited wealth and early involvement in philanthropy, welfare and social justice.”
Female billionaires also have slightly different financial portfolios. Because they often inherit private companies, they own more private property (35% vs. 28% of men) and more liquid assets and cash (39% vs. 30% of men). Male billionaires own significantly more stocks, with 40% of their wealth invested in stocks compared with 22% of women, largely because tech-focused billionaires founded publicly traded companies, the report said.
Female billionaires are more likely to own luxury real estate and art. For example, they are 1.5 times more likely to own real estate worth more than $10 million. Billionaires, on the other hand, are more likely to enjoy their “toys” such as private jets, yachts, and expensive cars. Male billionaires are 3.8 times more likely than female billionaires to own cars worth more than $1 million. They are more than twice as likely to own a yacht.
Gender differences in interests are even larger. For female billionaires, philanthropy is the most mentioned hobby, accounting for 71%. For men, exercise is the biggest hobby, accounting for 71%. More women also take up art, education and travel as hobbies, while men are more interested in aviation, outdoor activities and politics.
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