Study shows elite universities educate over one-third of US Centi-Millionaires

(MENAFN) A new report by wealth consultancy Henley & Partners has found that over one-third of the wealthiest people in the U.S. attended just eight elite universities. The study examined the backgrounds of the approximately 9,600 “centi-millionaires” living in the country, or those whose net worth exceeds USD100 million, and discovered that 35 percent of them graduated from Harvard, MIT, Stanford, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Yale, Cornell, and Princeton.

The report comes amid ongoing debate over the future of admissions to top American colleges and universities. The Supreme Court is currently weighing affirmative action admissions programs, and many elite colleges are under scrutiny for practices such as legacy admissions, which favor children of alumni, with critics arguing that they reinforce wealth and privilege.

However, graduating from an Ivy League or tech-based university does not guarantee future wealth or success. Despite this, graduates of these universities tend to earn considerably more than other college graduates, with Ivy League alumni earning around USD125,000 annually a decade after entering the workforce, compared to USD82,000 for other bachelor’s degree holders.

Henley & Partners Group Head of Education Services, John Milne, noted in the report that “access to top-tier education is a premise of the world's wealthiest, who maximize their children's prospects to build greater inter-generational success and affluence.”

The findings in the report reflect the most recent degree earned by centi-millionaires, which means that it includes graduate school degrees such as MBAs. Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth, who worked on the report, noted that some of the centi-millionaires inherited their wealth, while others are self-made.

Furthermore, the concentration of ultra-wealthy graduates from a handful of elite schools is even greater in other nations, according to Amoils. In Egypt and South Africa, for example, about 10 percent to 20 percent of the ultra-wealthy attended one elite university, while 7 percent of the ultra-wealthy in the U.S. went to Harvard.

The report sheds light on the ongoing conversation surrounding access to higher education and its impact on social and economic mobility. It highlights the role that top-tier education can play in opening doors to greater opportunity and success for those who are able to access it, but also underscores the need to address barriers to entry and ensure that everyone has an equal chance to succeed.

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