What a report on the spending of female billionaires tells us about the future of museum collections

Anyone fascinated by the lives of the ultra rich — which seems to be most of us — and in particular the part that art plays in it, will enjoy digging into the latest Survey of Global Collecting. Published by Arts Economics on behalf of the contemporary art fair Art Basel, it is available free of charge.

Although a dry read — no collectors are named — it’s full of intriguing nuggets. Its author, Clare McAndrew, has analysed the responses to a survey of 3,100 collectors who are either High Net Worth Individuals — those with disposable household financial assets (so not including property) of $1 million or more — or Ultra High Net Worth Individuals, with assets of more than $1 billion. As far as art collecting is concerned, their activities are important for the British economy, as the UK remains one of the world’s three largest art markets: with the USA and China (which, unlike the UK and USA, imports more than it exports), it accounts for 66% of global value.

The overarching statistic is staggering: in 2024, millionaires made up 1.6% of the global adult population, but owned 48% of its wealth. Yet there is one way that the distribution of global wealth is becoming more equitable — between the genders. Athena is delighted that Dr McAndrew has focused in detail on the impact that the richest women are having on the art market. In terms of their growing financial clout, it is significant. Between 2015 and 2024, the number of female billionaires grew from 190 to 344. Although this is only 18% of the world total of billionaires, women control more than one-third of global wealth and are projected to control 75% of discretionary spending world-wide within five years.

The report highlights some telling differences between men and women in these alpine reaches of the market. In particular, women are more interested in women artists. In their collections, 49% of the works are by female artists, compared with 40% in men’s, and women spent an average of 47% of their outlay on art in 2024–25 on female artists, compared with 41% for men.

Financial investment is a less important motive for collecting for these women than it is for men, with the consequence that women are less likely to be swayed by the public profile of an artist: 55% of the women reported buying works by unknown artists frequently or often, compared with 44% of men.

Although painting and sculpture remain the favourite media for both genders, and men are slightly ahead for works on paper, female buyers are broader in their range — they are, for example, more likely to collect photography, digital art, installations and textile-based art.

Given that considerably more women than men intend to donate works to the public (75% compared with 64%), the report provides a riveting glimpse into the future shape of our museum collections.