Peculiar traits of the curious species we call billionaires

Published Sep 19, 2014

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ENJOY a spot of hunting or horse riding? Is the Snow Polo World Cup the highlight of your social calendar? Do you prefer the company of rich people while also loving to help those less fortunate? Are you married with two kids?

If the answer to all these questions is yes, you could call yourself a typical billionaire, albeit without the eye-watering bank balance.

In the past year the world has experienced a veritable billionaire boom, with 155 new individuals joining the mega-rich club – a 7 percent jump since 2013 – bringing the global total to 2 325.

Now the 2014 Billionaire Census, a report from Wealth-X and UBS, has revealed intriguing facts about this curious species. The average billionaire is male, 63 years old and took 45 years to hit the magic $1 billion (R11bn) mark.

They tend to be family-orientated, 90 percent are married, with an average of two kids a piece. Most billionaires are passionate about outdoor pursuits like hunting, sailing and skiing. One in 30 owns a sports team or race horse. They’re typically birds of a feather, with each billionaire counting an average of another three billionaires as close contacts.

About 35 percent have their own philanthropic foundations and many love fine art. While Microsoft founder Bill Gates can still boast to be the world’s richest man with a cool $76bn in the bank, the average billionaire has $3.1bn.

And forget about old money, most billionaires are self-made. – Daily Mail

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