Alice Walton speaks on stage at the Getty Medal Dinner 2022 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 by Robert Frank, a weekly guide for high-net-worth investors and consumers. sign up Receive future editions directly to your inbox.
As women make up a larger share of the world’s wealth, women with new causes and philanthropy are also becoming a larger share of the billionaire class, according to a new report.
According to the Altrata Billionaire Census, 13% (or 431) of the world’s 3,323 billionaires are women. Although it may seem small, its number and share have been gradually increasing over the past decade.
According to the report, the feminization of the three-comma club will continue to advance due to “the growth of female entrepreneurship, slow changes in cultural attitudes, and the increasing frequency of substantial intergenerational wealth transfers.” .
Inheritance is the most powerful driving force. According to the report, three-quarters of the 431 female billionaires currently inherit some of their wealth. According to Altrata, the three richest women in the world are Alice Walton ($104 billion), Julia Flesher Koch and her family ($76 billion), and Francoise Betancourt Meyers ($73 billion). ), 38% of them inherited all their property. In contrast, only 5% of male billionaires inherited their wealth.
A quarter of female millionaires are self-made, compared to 66% of men. Such inheritance may become even more common. Women are expected to inherit up to $30 trillion over the next 10 years as part of the mega-wealth transfer, according to a report by Cerulli Associates.
Male and female billionaires also donate and spend differently. For example, women are more focused on nonprofits and social organizations, according to the report.
Nearly one in five female billionaires spend most of their professional time in nonprofit work, compared to 5% of male billionaires. The report states that the prevalence of inheritance among women is a key reason for the focus on philanthropy, as women tend to be “less commercially involved” and are “less likely to be involved in inheritance and “There tends to be a strong association between early involvement in philanthropy, welfare, and social justice.” . ”
Billionaire women’s financial portfolios are also a little different. Because they often inherit private companies, they hold more of their assets in private equity (35% compared to 28% of men) and have more liquid assets and cash (39% compared to 30%). ) is held. According to the report, billionaire men own far more stocks, with men holding 40% of their wealth in stocks compared to 22% for women. The company says it’s largely driven by tech-minded billionaires who have started public companies.
Female billionaires are much more likely to own luxury real estate and artwork. For example, you are 1.5 times more likely to own real estate worth $10 million or more. Billionaire men, on the other hand, tend to enjoy “toys” such as private jets, yachts, and expensive cars. Billionaire men are 3.8 times more likely to own a car worth $1 million or more than millionaire women. And they are more than twice as likely to own a yacht.
The disparity between men and women when it comes to hobbies is even greater. For female billionaires, philanthropy was the most cited hobby, at 71%. For men, the top hobby was sports at 71%. Additionally, while many women cited art, education, and travel as hobbies, men were more likely to be interested in aviation, the outdoors, and politics.
