The number of women billionaires seems to be increasing, and while that is a good sign, there is still a massive difference between those who came into that wealth through inheritance and the self-made female billionaires. This disparity is especially glaring when compared with the list of the top 10 richest men, where a small percentage inherited their wealth, while the large majority are self-made.
Here, we examine the differences between self-made female billionaires and those who acquired their wealth through inheritance. A recent study by Altrata, titled “Who are Today’s Self-Made Female Billionaires?” noted that 38% of female billionaires attribute their wealth entirely to inheritance. In contrast, a mere 5% of male billionaires have solely inherited fortunes.
This doesn’t mean that the women who have inherited their wealth have not done anything with it. Many have taken the wealth and brand name they received to new heights and success, building on their existing wealth and genuinely earning their spot on the list. British economist Alison Wolf wrote in The XX Factor (2013) that “more and more women who have inherited fortunes based on family companies are also actively involved in running them.”
However, there is certainly something to be observed when the majority of the individuals in these lists of the richest people on the planet are primarily men, and these days, a significant number of them earn their wealth independently without any family backing.
From the Forbes list of “The Richest People in the World,” which is, in any case, dominated by men overall, names like Elon Musk (Tesla/SpaceX) with a net worth of $342 billion, Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook/Meta) with $216 billion, Jeff Bezos (Amazon) with $215 billion, Larry Ellison (Oracle) with $192 billion, and Warren Buffett with a net worth of $153 billion all claim to be self-made.
Meanwhile, the only one who can be regarded as not being entirely self-made is Bernard Arnault, whose initial wealth largely stemmed from his family’s resources. His father, Jean Léon Arnault, owned Ferret-Savinel, a civil engineering company.
This essentially means that out of the top 10 richest men in the world, only one has gained wealth somewhat through inheritance. However, the comparison on the female side is startling, as the first self-made female billionaire does not even feature in the top 10 of the women billionaires list.
Read More: This Indian Community Has Maximum Billionaires Despite Being Only 5% Of Population
Why the Gap?
There are some very real and unfortunate reasons why there remains such a significant gap between men and women who can reach the top and assume leadership positions in the professional sector. Reports have revealed that although women’s education is reaching high numbers across the globe, and the workforce has an increasing number of women, most of these positions are at the entry-level.
When one examines the top executives and board members of large companies, the number of women begins to shrink rapidly. Even in the Fortune 500 CEOs list, only 52 women are included.
Newcastle University professor Sharon Marvin, in Women Elite Leaders Doing Respectable Business (2016), has asserted that women are expected to be both warm and feminine while also retaining masculine characteristics, making it difficult to ascend the corporate ladder.
There is still considerable prejudice against women in the workplace, where upper-level management often doubts that women can be good leaders, citing reasons such as perceived emotionality and a lack of logic, as well as fear that they would leave once they get married or have children.
According to a report by the Indian Express, Emma Ischinsky, a doctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, discussed how a woman’s job performance is evaluated compared to a man’s. Ischinsky found that women face harsher and stricter job performance evaluations, and the situation worsens due to many evaluators being men themselves.
There is also a significant gap in sectors where women are seen occupying space. While startups are a clear favourite, with several women becoming founders of their own companies, LinkedIn data compiled by the World Economic Forum (WEF) paints a disheartening picture of women in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce. Currently, women constitute only 28.2% of the STEM sector.
The STEM workforce is where the majority of the richest men have created their wealth. In today’s economy, it is one of the most financially lucrative sectors.
Even the startup sector does not always treat women equitably, with a Harvard Business Review article revealing how challenging it is for women to secure venture capital investments. According to the article, women receive less than 3 per cent of all venture capital investments.
Internal sexism and insecurities also contribute to the reasons women do not take the initiative. In her book Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg, the former COO of Facebook and a self-made billionaire wrote, “In addition to the external barriers erected by society, women are hindered…”
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: The Indian Express, Forbes, Altrata
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