In Britain, women are wealthier than men

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The new face of wealth wears lipstick

By Susan Palmquist | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor

Britain has long been known as a friendly place for high-achieving women. It's had a female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, and Queen Elizabeth II has ruled for 52 years. Now there's a new milestone: For the first time women make up a larger part of the wealthy population than their male counterparts.

The country has 299,300 women with £200,000 (about $363,800) or more in liquid assets - cash, shares, and bonds - compared with 271,700 men.

That means that women make up about 52 percent of the wealthy population in Britain, versus 47 percent for men. And their numbers have been steadily increasing since the late 1990s: The number of affluent women rose from 231,000 in 1997 to 272,000 in 2002.

Observers say there are several reasons behind the trend - women moving into careers with higher salaries, starting their own businesses, and investing wisely, and more equitable division of inheritances. They also hint that in the United States, women may also overtake men in terms of wealth.

Full story: http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0614/p12s02-wmgn.html