How the wealthy have been educated (article)

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1 How the wealthy have been educated (article) Ever wondered which universities have the most millionaire alumni and which subjects are studied by the most successful people of our time? A new study from Spear s and WealthInsight offers the answers. Extensive data on the top 500 universities and subjects studied by millionaires has been exclusively compiled for Spear's in association with WealthInsight, the leading wealth consultancy company. The newly released data shows that UK universities produce the second highest number of millionaires in the entire world after the USA with 42 UK tertiary establishments in the top 500. Oxford (6) and Cambridge (9) both make the top ten, with the London School of Economics (27), University of London (45), London Business School (63) and Imperial College (68) also placing within the top 100 universities. Other UK universities making the top 500 include the London School of Economics (27), University of London (45), London Business School (63), Imperial College (68), Bristol University (102), University College London (114), Edinburgh University (115), Leeds University (148), Southampton University (150), University of Manchester (152), Newcastle University (168), Durham University (173), Birmingham University (215), Nottingham University (217), Liverpool University (238), Glasgow University (267), Lancaster University (296), Sheffield University (299), University of Bradford (460). Harvard, whose alumni include Barack Obama and John F Kennedy, ranked first, with Harvard Business School (2) and Stanford University (3), also in the US, following closely behind. As for which subjects produced the most millionaires, engineering came first, followed by an MBA, economics and law though millionaires produced by these subjects have often left their degree behind in professional life. Commenting on the findings, Spear's editor Josh Spero said: 'Entrepreneurs, who ultimately end up being the wealthiest in the world, are innovators, and the top subjects are those which encourage new and smart thinking, whether technical or financial. 'But it's also no surprise to find that the brightest people, who go to the best universities, often leave their degrees behind and go into high finance to seek their fortune.' Oliver Williams of WealthInsight adds: 'You would expect to see a high number of scientific or financial degrees in the top 10, like engineering, commerce and accounting. Numerical degrees are a notable advantage when it comes to amassing a personal fortune. 'But, interestingly, few of these degrees turn out to be outright vocational; most engineering graduates, for example, are not engineers but entrepreneurs. The same goes for most law and politics graduates, who owe their fortunes not to practicing their professions but climbing the ranks of the financial services sector.' Computer science is an interesting addition to the list at number nine. According to Williams, 'This shows the rise of the tech industry. In future years, as more and more tech entrepreneurs make it big, we should expect it to move further up the list.' Only just over 1 per cent of the world's millionaires did not study at university or dropped out before they graduated. In this exclusive latter category are a number of the world's wealthiest billionaires, however, including Bill Gates, Richard Branson who left school aged sixteen and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who dropped out of Harvard to concentrate on building up his business.

2 IN FULL The top 100 global universities for producing millionaires: 1 Harvard University (USA) 2 Harvard Business School (USA) 3 Stanford University (USA) 4 University of California (USA) 5 Columbia University (USA) 6 University of Oxford (UK) 7 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) 8 New York University (USA) 9 University of Cambridge (UK) 10 University of Pennsylvania (USA) 11 Cornell University (USA) 12 University of Michigan (USA) 13 Yale University (USA) 14 University of Chicago (USA) 15 INSEAD (France) 16 Tel Aviv University (Israel) 17 University of Texas (USA) 18 Sciences Po (Institut d'études politiques de Paris) (France) 19 University of Southern California (USA) 20 Ecole Polytechnique (France) 21 Northwestern University (USA) 22 Princeton University (USA) 23 HEC Paris (France) 24 Bocconi University (Italy) 25 University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School (USA) 26 University of Illinois (USA) 27 London School of Economics (UK) 28 University of Virginia (USA) 29 University of Wisconsin (USA) 30 Duke University (USA) 31 University of California, Berkeley (USA) 32 University of Paris (France) 33 University of New South Wales (Australia) 34 California State University (USA) 35 Georgetown University (USA) 36 Paris Dauphine University (France) 37 University of Toronto (Canada) 38 Washington University (USA) 39 Dartmouth College (USA) 40 McGill University (Canada 41 Boston University (USA) 42 Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel) 43 Purdue University (USA) 44 Sydney University (Australia) 45 University of London (UK) 46 Melbourne University (Australia) 47 Stockholm School of Economics (Sweden) 48 Ohio State University (USA) 49 University of Florida (USA) 50 University of Missouri (USA) 51 George Washington University (USA) 52 University of Minnesota (USA) 53 Miami University (USA) 54 Michigan State University (USA) 55 University of British Columbia (Canada) 56 University of Witwatersrand (South Africa) 57 University of Colorado (USA) 58 Indiana University, Bloomington (USA) 59 University of Notre Dame (USA) 60 Queen's University (Canada) 61 Rutgers University (USA) 62 Brown University (USA) 63 London Business School (UK) 64 Copenhagen Business School (Denmark) 65 Ecole Nationale d'administration (France) 66 Essec Business School Paris (France) 67 Stanford Business School (USA) 68 Imperial College (UK) 69 Carnegie Mellon University (USA) 70 University of North Carolina (USA) 71 Southern Methodist University (USA) 72 Columbia Business School (USA) 73 Monash University (Australia) 74 Technion Israel Institute of Technology (Israel) 75 Texas A&M University (USA) 76 Vanderbilt University (USA) 77 Boston College (USA) 78 University of Western Ontario (Canada) 79 University of Cape Town (South Africa) 80 Georgia Institute of Technology (USA) 81 Moscow State University (Russia) 82 University of Maryland (USA) 83 University of Houston (USA) 84 University of Kansas (USA) 85 Louisiana State University (USA) 86 Tulane University (USA) 87 University of Queensland (Australia) 88 Delhi University (India) 89 Stockholm University (Sweden) 90 La Sapienza University of Rome (Italy) 91 State University of New York (USA) 92 Tufts University (USA) 93 University of Arizona (USA) 94 Fordham University (USA) 95 University of Western Australia (Australia) 96 National University of Singapore (Singapore) 97 Northeastern University (USA) 98 MIT Sloan School of Management (USA) 99 Brigham Young University (USA) 100 University of Massachusetts (USA)

3 Where the world s wealthy went to university The largest survey ever produced on how the wealthy were educated London 30 th October 2013 UK universities produce the second highest number of millionaires in the world after the USA Both Oxford and Cambridge make the top ten and 42 UK universities including Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool and Bradford make it into the top 500 global universities which have produced the highest number of millionaires Engineering degrees produce the most millionaires, while other vocational degrees MBA, law, accounting, finance also lead to financial success, though not necessarily in their fields Only just over 1% of the world s millionaires did not attend, or dropped out of university

4 London 30 th October 2013 The degree subjects and universities that produce the most millionaires across the world have been revealed by SPEARS s magazine in association with leading wealth consultancy company WealthInsight. The research shows that a degree in engineering produces more millionaires than any other programme, while other vocational subjects like law and accounting also breed millionaires, though not necessarily in their fields. Josh Spero, editor of SPEAR s magazine, says: Entrepreneurs, who ultimately end up being the wealthiest in the world, are innovators, and the top subjects are those which encourage new and smart thinking, whether technical or financial. But it s also no surprise to find that the brightest people, who go to the best universities, often leave their degrees behind and go into high finance to seek their fortune. Spero adds: The universities which dominate are exactly the ones you d expect, not just because of the quality of the education but because of the self confidence they instil in their students. They also have strong alumni networks which give their students a leg up when they move into the world of work. According to Oliver Williams of WealthInsight, You would expect to see a high number of scientific or financial degrees in the top 10, like engineering, commerce and accounting. Numerical degrees are a notable advantage when it comes to amassing a personal fortune. But, interestingly, few of these degrees turn out to be outright vocational; most engineering graduates, for example, are not engineers but entrepreneurs. The same goes for most law and politics graduates, who owe their fortunes not to practicing their professions but climbing the ranks of the financial services sector. Computer science makes an interesting addition to the list. According to Williams, This shows the rise of the tech industry. In future years, as more and more tech entrepreneurs make it big, we should expect it to move further up the list. The research also shows that the UK sits second in the global table after the USA, with 42 universities making the top 500 most attended universities by millionaires in the world. The University of Oxford (6) comes out on top, producing more international millionaire alumni than Cambridge (9), however the tables are turned when you measure the number of UK millionaires produced. Other UK universities making the top 500 include the London School of Economics (27), University of London (45), London Business School (63), Imperial College (68), Bristol University (102), University College London (114), Edinburgh University (115), Leeds University (148), Southampton University (150), University of Manchester (152), Newcastle University (168), Durham University (173), Birmingham University (215), Nottingham University ( 217), Liverpool University (238), Glasgow University (267), Lancaster University (296), Sheffield University (299), University of Bradford (460). The survey also shows that just over 1% of the wealthiest never saw it through to a diploma ceremony. This group, including Richard Branson and Bill Gates, who famously dropped out of Harvard, has gone on to do well enough in the global wealth stakes.

5 *** Editor s Notes For media questions please contact Ida Kloster at [email protected] or call +44 (0) Methodology WealthInsight has gone through its database of 70,000 millionaires (HNWIs individuals with over US$1 million in assets excluding primary residences), to find which are the most popular degrees and the highest attended universities. This growing database profiles HNWIs in over 200 countries, with a focus on Ultra HNWIs (those with over US$30 million). Each profile details not only information about an individual s education, but also their wealth, assets, relationships and interests. Definitions Multimillionaires otherwise known as ultra high net worth individuals or UHNWIs are individuals with net assets of US$30 million or more, excluding their primary residences. Millionaires otherwise known as high net worth individuals or HNWIs refer to individuals with net assets of US$1 million or more, excluding their primary residences. SPEAR s is the multi award winning wealth management and luxury lifestyle brand whose flagship magazine has become a must read for the ultra high net worth community. It is also required reading for the affluent financial services community, including the bankers, lawyers and family offices who advise the rich. WealthInsight is the leading source of news and insight into the wealth sector. Working in over 200 countries, with teams of researchers and analysts in 15 offices worldwide, providing detailed analysis on the world's High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) and producing business information which helps organisations to make informed decisions and win new business. Headquartered in London, WealthInsight has a global reach, with offices in San Francisco, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Madrid, Hyderabad, Hong Kong and Sydney. Learn more about our services at: