Female Supremacy Articles

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Beresford recently forecast 20 people who would be prominent members of the 2020 Rich List. Almost half were women, including the 18-year-old actress Keira Knightley, star of Pirates of the Caribbean, who is predicted to amass a £50m fortune.

Fifteen years ago Rachel Elnaugh, 38, founded Red Letter Days, a company that sells "experiences" such as flying lessons or grand prix racing. Its products are now sold in department stores, earning Elnaugh two homes, a six-figure salary and a multi-million-pound nest egg.

"People tend to underestimate women and don't think that you are a force to be reckoned with," said Elnaugh, who has three children and is about to marry for the second time. "Women set up on their own because glass ceilings exist in big corporate organisations where the existing hierarchy is usually male. "

Yet successful self-made female millionaires are still in the minority. Just one in four of the country's company directors is a woman and a disproportionate number are employed in small firms and charities. Just one of the 100 biggest companies is headed by a woman Marjorie Scardino at Pearson and almost 40% have no female directors.

More typical are women such as Lily Safra, Josie Rowland and Janet de Botton who have inherited their wealth. The reality is that the reason there are more female than male millionaires is largely due not to their skills or education but because of inheritance.