Alice Walton speaks on stage during the 2022 Getty Medal Dinner at the Getty Center on October 03, 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 the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future issues, straight to your inbox.
As women's share of global wealth increases, they're also making up a larger share of the billionaire class, with a new set of goals and philanthropy, according to a new report.
Of the world's 3,323 billionaires, 13% (or 431) of them are women, according to the Altrata Billionaire Census. Although this may seem small, their numbers and shares have gradually increased over the past ten years.
According to the report, “the growth in female entrepreneurship, slowly changing cultural attitudes, and the increasing pace of significant intergenerational wealth transfers” will continue to further feminize the Three Comma Club.
Inheritance was the most powerful driver. Of the 431 billionaires today, three-quarters of them inherited part of their wealth, according to the report. The Ultrata said that 38% inherited all their wealth, including the three richest women in the world, Alice Walton ($104 billion), Julia Fleischer Koch and her family ($76 billion), and Françoise Bettencourt Meyers ($73 billion). In contrast, only 5% of male billionaires inherited their wealth.
A quarter of female billionaires are self-made, compared to 66% of men. These inheritances may become more common. According to a report by Cerulli Associates, women are expected to inherit up to $30 trillion in the next decade as part of a major wealth transfer.
Male and female billionaires also give and spend differently. For example, women focus more on nonprofits and social organizations, according to the report.
Nearly one in five female billionaires spends most of their professional time at nonprofit organizations, compared to 5% of men. The report said the prevalence of inheritance among women is the main reason for the focus on philanthropy, as they tend to have “fewer business commitments” and “there tends to be a strong link between inherited wealth and early involvement in philanthropy, well-being and social justice.” “.
Women billionaires also have slightly different portfolios. Since they inherit private businesses more often, they have more of their wealth in private property (35% vs. 28% for men) and more liquid assets and cash (39% vs. 30%). Billionaire men own significantly more stocks, the report said, with men holding 40% of their wealth in stocks compared to 22% for women, largely due to tech-focused billionaires who have launched public companies.
Billionaires are more likely to own luxury real estate and art. They are, for example, 1.5 times more likely to own real estate worth more than $10 million. Billionaire men, on the other hand, are more likely to enjoy their “toys,” such as private jets, yachts, and expensive cars. Billionaire men are 3.8 times more likely than billionaire women to own a car worth more than $1 million. They are more than twice as likely to own a yacht.
The gender gap regarding hobbies is even larger. For billionaires, philanthropy was the most mentioned hobby, at 71%. For men, sports was the top hobby at 71%. More women also cited art, education, and travel as hobbies, while men were more interested in aviation, the outdoors, and politics.
