Rise in female millionaires aided by divorce

A growing number of women who have become millionaires have been aided by lucrative divorce settlements, new research has revealed.

According to figures released by independent market analyst Datamonitor, almost half of the millionaires in the UK are made up of women who have found wealth through divorce, as well as inheritance and entrepreneurial skills.

Moreover, the study also found that women are increasingly becoming very rich at a rate five times faster than their male counterparts.

There are currently 376,000 millionaires in Britain, 46 per cent of which are female, and the number of women with personal fortunes in excess of £1 million is growing by nearly 11 per cent per annum.

In 2006, average male millionaires were worth £2.96 million, while women were worth £1.97 million. This shows a marked increase during the last eight years, as in 1998 the average wealth for male and female millionaires stood at £2.71 million and £1.28 million respectively.

According to Datamonitor, female millionaires' wealth has risen by an average 53.9 per cent since 1998, while male millionaires' wealth has increased by an average of just 9.2 per cent.