"The Changing Face of Billionaires" report by Swiss bank UBS and PricewaterhouseCoopers looked back over 20 years and surveyed 1,300 people in 14 different global markets.
Asia witnesses biggest growth in female billionaires. Read new report by @UBS & PwC: https://t.co/D6UUS3ZegK pic.twitter.com/iTBqLS7umH
— PwC Press (@pwc_press) December 15, 2015
It found the number of extremely wealthy women grew by a factor of 6.6 between 1995 and 2014; while the number of very rich men increased by only 5.2.
And it's mainly women from Asia who have the "Athena factor." More than 50 percent of Asian female billionaires are self-made, compared to 19 percent in the US and seven percent in Europe.
Female billionaire population grew faster than male peers. New UBS & PwC billionaire report: https://t.co/XL2k7oWtcM pic.twitter.com/tXa2u4fX7j
— PwC Press (@pwc_press) December 15, 2015
The report suggests that the rise of the Asian female entrepreneur was "creating an entirely new billionaire demographic." Ten years ago, there were said to be just three Asian female billionaires — now there are 25.
However, very wealthy Asian women are still a minority compared to their male counterparts — outnumbered by 1,202 male billionaires to 145.
Between 1995-2015 billionaires grew their assets from avg of USD 2.9bn to USD 11bn https://t.co/D6UUS3ZegK #UBS #PwC pic.twitter.com/Bjq4rlRUFI
— PwC Press (@pwc_press) December 15, 2015
And it seems attitudes held by some of the world's richest people are shifting apart. The survey identified a growing "anti-wealth sentiment" among politicians due to tax and financial regulations.
"Currently, billionaire families see regulation and taxation as a key menace to maintaining their legacy," the report said.
Meanwhile, other women have taken a more philanthropic view. Nearly one sixth of billionaires in the US have pledged to donate nearly all of their wealth to good causes over their lifetime.
