Half of UK's millionaires are women

For the first time women account for nearly half of the millionaires in Britain, a study in London said on Wednesday.

Huge success in their careers -- or divorce courts -- has made them extraordinarily wealthy.

About 46 per cent of the country's 376,000 millionaires are women, a survey by researcher Datamonitor stated.

The report, which labels women 'the richer sex' said, the number is growing by almost 11 per cent every year. Within a few years, they could overshadow their male counterparts.

The report said the rise is partly due to 'new generation' of so-called kitchen table tycoons -- female entrepreneurs who are setting up hugely successful businesses.

In 1984, when official records were first collated, there were about 645,000 self-employed women. But the army of businesswomen has breached the million mark for the first time this year -- a rise of 62 per cent.

Women are now forming new businesses in all types of industries, offering everything from organic baby food to financial advice.

For the first time, they make up around one in four of Management Today magazine's annual list of the Top 100 Entrepreneurs.

Nearly 4,000 women are now among the richest Britons, with liquid assets of more than £5 million, Datamonitor said.

A liquid asset is cash, savings, shares, bonds and collective investments, such as unit trusts. Over the past seven years, the number of women with such a big fortune has jumped more than 150 per cent.

In total, there are nearly 35,000 with liquid assets of 1 million pounds or more. The larger figure for the number of female millionaires includes property assets which are not classified as 'liquid.'

In the past few years there have been several divorce cases that have established women as millionaires.

Fund manager Alan Miller was told to pay his ex-wife Melissa £5 million after a marriage of less than three years.

And in 2004 Karen Parlour, ex-wife of former England footballer Ray Parlour, was awarded a third of his future earnings 'to acknowledge the role she played in his success.'

The settlement included £406,500-a-year maintenance, two mortgage-free houses worth more than £1 million and a £250,000 lump sum.

The wealth gap between male and female millionaires is also narrowing.

A decade ago, the average male millionaire was worth £2.7 million, compared with £1.3 million for female tycoons. Today, a man has nearly £3 million, while a woman has a typical fortune of £2 million.