Where the world's billionaires are
For the ranks of the world's billionaires, the last year has proven rich indeed.
The population of the ultra-rich club grew by 7 percent from June 2013 through June 2014, reaching an all-time high of 2,325 individuals, according to the second annual Billionaire Census from UBS. That population growth was outpaced by the growth of their wealth, which jumped 12 percent to reach $7.3 trillion at the end of June.
To put that in some perspective, the wealth of the world's billionaires is more than the market capitalization of all the companies included in the Dow Jones industrial index. While it may be a good time to be among the ultra-wealthy, the stupendous growth of this group's assets has also drawn criticism from economists and analysts, while the Brookings Institution's Darrell West has questioned whether the concentration of assets in such a small group is creating an outsized influence on politics.
Even though the club is small, its impact has grown, the UBS study acknowledged.
"Between 2011 and 2013, the growth in the wealth of the world's billionaires accounted for 40% of the growth in total ultra high net worth (UHNW) wealth -- although billionaires only comprise 1% of the global UHNW population," the report noted.
Across the globe, the population of billionaires -- for which there is only one for every 3 million people -- controls 4 percent of the world's wealth, it found.
For newly minted billionaires, the U.S. is the place to be, according to the report. America recorded 57 new billionaires in the past year, and the U.S. also has the largest population of ultra-wealthy, with more billionaires inside its borders than China, the U.K., Germany and Russia combined.
New York City is the most popular home for America's billionaires, with 103 residing in the Big Apple. The second-most popular city, Los Angeles, claimed only 25.
So, how did the billionaires get into the club? Mostly through entrepreneurialism, the report found. About two-thirds of their primary companies are privately held.
When it comes to male billionaires, 60 percent are self-made and have an average age of 64. Their numbers, at 2,039, far outnumber the world's measly 286 female billionaires. Two-thirds of women with billionaire-size bank accounts inherited their assets, and they have an average age of 61.
Interestingly, a college degree isn't an essential to joining this group. More than one-third hold no university degree, the study found. "Some even dropped out of high school," it added.
But those who did attend university have a few favorite institutions. University of Pennsylvania leads the pack, with 25 billionaire alumni. Harvard tracks close behind, with 22, while Yale is third with 20.