- The profile of the typical billionaire isn’t all that surprising.
- Most of the world’s billionaires are men, and the largest share work in finance or banking.
- Here’s a breakdown of the billionaire class, according to a new report.
If you’re looking for a billionaire, you might as well be looking for a man in finance, trust fund, 6’5″, blue eyes.
Well, not exactly, but the typical member of the three-comma club isn’t that different from the stereotype.
The typical billionaire is a man in his 60s, who lives in New York City, loves sports, and works in banking or finance, according to Altrata’s 2024 Billionaire Census, which looked at the world’s richest citizens as of 2023. Most of his wealth is probably tied up in public companies, though he also has a penchant for private jets, luxury yachts, and valuable cars. He is also, unlike the man in the TikTok jingle, self-made.
There are more billionaires than ever in the world, a total of 3,323. Their cumulative net worth is $12.1 trillion, up 9% from last year thanks to a stock-market rebound.
The United States is home to nearly one third of them, the largest concentration of any country. New York City alone has 144 billionaire inhabitants — more than any country besides the US, China, and Germany.
Most — 87% — of billionaires are male, and have amassed their fortunes in different ways than the world’s 431 female billionaires.
While the majority of all billionaires, about 60%, are fully self-made, men are more likely to be than female billionaires. In fact, 76% of the world’s female billionaires have inherited at least part of their wealth, compared to 35% of male ones.
Male billionaires are more likely to have public assets make up the largest share, or about 40%, of their wealth. Male tech billionaires whose fortunes are tied up in the companies they control or founded — like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos — skewed that number, according to the report.
Meanwhile, liquid assets, like cash and private holdings, are the largest asset classes for women. Both are more typically tied to inherited fortunes, Altrata found.
The largest share of all billionaires, about 22%, work in finance or banking, but the largest portion, about 17%, of female billionaires spend most of their professional time in the nonprofit sector.
The interests of male and female billionaires follow suit: 71% of women billionaires count philanthropy as a top interest, while sports was the most popular one for male billionaires. Among all billionaires, the top philanthropic cause was education, which includes gifts to alma maters — an especially popular form of giving in the US.
Billionaires are also more likely to splurge on different high-value items depending on their gender. Men prefer luxury vehicles — jets, yachts, cars — while women prefer property and art. In fact, male billionaires are almost four times as likely to own a car collection worth more than $1 million than their female counterparts.
So, if you are looking for a man or woman, finance isn’t a bad place to start. Failing that, why not try a gala or classic car show? We’ll leave the choice of eye color up to you.
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