UK NEWS

THE RISE AND RISE OF THE WEALTHY WOMAN

J K Rowling is now richer than the Queen

Monday June 11,2007

By Sarah O'Grady, Social Affairs Correspondent

Comment Speech Bubble Have your say(0)

WOMEN now create their own wealth instead of marrying money.

Business acumen, hard work and a drive to succeed mean modern women are independently wealthy, a survey reveals.

More than 80 per cent of women with £100,000 to invest made their money from earnings, business ownership or personal investments.

This compares to just a quarter who got it through marriage, 2.2 per cent from a divorce settlement and 19.9 per cent who inherited it.

The report – A Question of Gender – predicts that by 2020 females will outnumber male millionaires in the UK.

After the US, Britain has the highest proportion of women in managerial positions among western countries.

There are 117 female directors of FTSE 100 companies and 77 per cent of those companies have at least one woman on their board. Amy Nauiokas, of Barclays Wealth which produced the study, said: “While the more ‘traditional’ drivers of wealth still play a part, they are no longer the dominant forces they were.

“While it is not necessarily a case of providing women with a different service or products, it is crucial that the wealth management industry understands the motivations and needs women have, and that a ‘one size fits all’ approach to managing this increasingly influential audience may not work.” The report, produced in partnership with the Economist Intelligence Unit, found that the combined wealth of Britain’s richest women in 2007 is £33.27billion.

The survey of 600 internationally wealthy women also revealed that women are less likely than men to invest in the riskier business ventures and have different opinions on how they would spend a windfall.

When asked how they would choose to spend £100,000, the majority of men said they would prefer to put the money in the stock market. But women have a greater propensity to avoid high risk, choosing instead to invest in their personal pension.

Ms Nauiokas said: “Women will alter their approach as they reach their goal and often act to protect what they have built up.

“Equally, when they are in the mindset that ‘this is for investment and saving’, women are very diligent and plan well.

They are also absolutely more disciplined in allocating a figure for the spending pot to enhance their lifestyle and enjoyment.”