A few weeks ago, I gave you good news about the gender income gap. In that essay, I explained how the data have been manipulated in a way that makes it look like the wage gap is a much bigger problem than it really is. As I pointed out, when you account for all other variables (types of jobs, hours worked, etc.), the much-publicized gap between men and women is only about 3%. And some of that 3% is attributable to the fact that women are less likely to ask for raises than men are.

Now, according to recent research, there’s even more good news.

The Facts About Women and Wealth 

Here are the facts…

Wealth Ownership:

 * 45% of American millionaires are women.

* The number of wealthy women in the US is growing twice as fast as the number of wealthy men.

* According to a 2009 study from Boston College’s Center on Wealth and Philanthropy, women will inherit 70% of the money that gets passed down over the next two generations.

Wealth Control:

* Women control nearly 60% of the wealth in the US. And this percentage is rising.

* 48% of estates worth more than $5 million are controlled by women, compared with 35% controlled by men.

Income:

* There are more than half a million women with a personal income of $100,000 or more.

* Almost half – 44% – of women are the primary breadwinners in their households, an almost 4-fold increase since 1960.

* The trend in wages favors women. In another 10 years, the average American woman is expected to earn significantly more than the average American man.

Spending Power:

* It is estimated that the total annual purchasing power of US women is between $5 trillion and $15 trillion.

* Women are believed to be behind 85% of all consumer purchases – from food to cars to electronics to healthcare.

Entrepreneurship:

* Between 2007 and 2016, female-owned firms grew 5 times faster than the national average.

* As of 2016, there were 11.3 million female-owned firms in the US that employed nearly 9 million people and generated over $1.6 trillion in revenues.

 Investing Power:

* Women control a huge amount of investment dollars ($11.2 trillion, or 39%, of the country’s investable assets, according to Morgan Stanley). And the data suggest that they are better than their male counterparts at investing. The reason, I think, is that women are more conservative than men… and conservative investing is smart investing.

* Women own more diverse portfolios, trade less often, incur fewer fees, and are less likely to panic sell in a downturn than men.

* On average, women earn between 0.4% and 1.0% more than men on their investments. This can result in 12% larger retirement nest eggs for women over a 30-year period.