The number of women billionaires are growing faster than their male counterparts

The number of women increased by 18 percent in the past year

Though men still make up the lion's share of the global population of ultra-wealthy, an increasing number of women are joining their ranks. (Credit: Pixabay)
Though men still make up the lion's share of the global population of ultra-wealthy, an increasing number of women are joining their ranks. (Credit: Pixabay)

Though men still make up the lion’s share of the global population of ultra-wealthy, an increasing number of women are joining their ranks.

As of this year, 321 women responded to Wealth-X’s annual billionaire survey saying their holdings were over $1 billion–a 18 percent increased compared to the 2017 results.

By comparison, the number of male billionaires increased by 14.5 percent, 0.4 percentage points lower than the 2017 survey. The total population of high-worth men is 2,433.

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According to Forbes‘ annual ranking in 2017, the number of women on the publication’s billionaire list increased by a record amount to a total of 227. The richest female billionaires include Liliane Bettencourt, whose net worth of $39.5 billion comes from her stake in a third of L’Oreal, which was founded by her father; Alice Walton, the daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, whose fortune clocks in at $33.8 billion; and Jacqueline Mars, whose grandfather founded the candy brand Mars, whose wealth is at $27 billion.

According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, Yang Huiyan, vice chairman of Country Garden Holdings, is real estate — and China’s — richest woman.