Male Heirs and Self-Made Women? Gender, Extreme Wealth and the Ivy League

The literature shows that education can work to maintain social class status (wealth reproduction) or provide upward mobility (wealth production). Against this backdrop, we examine U.S. billionaires’ attendance rates at Ivy League universities, with a focus on origin of wealth and gender. Using data from The Forbes World’s Billionaires list (2010–2023) combined with information retrieved from Wikidata, we analyze a sample of 1,028 individuals. Of these, 26% attended an Ivy League school. Attendance was slightly higher for male heirs than for self-made men, despite their nearly identical rates of U.S. university attendance. Self-made women, however, showed much higher Ivy League attendance rates than female heirs. Our findings offer a descriptive account of billionaires’ educational backgrounds that carries theoretical implications: An Ivy League education may fulfill different functions according to wealth origin and gender, reinforcing privilege for some (male heirs) while acting as a tool of advancement for others (self-made women).