Engineering degrees can build fortunes
More than a fifth, or 22%, of the world's wealthiest people studied engineering at university, accounting for almost twice as many billionaires' degrees as the next most popular choice.
A business education has helped 12% of plutocrats amass their fortunes, while 9% of the fattest cats studied an arts subject at university - more than those who specialised in more business-oriented topics such as economics and finance.
Approved Index analysed the educational background of billionaires by examining Forbes's list of the world's richest 100 people.
The report found that engineering graduates are also the richest of their prosperous peers, with an average fortune of $25.8 billion (about R306-billion), compared with a net worth of $24 billion for billionaires without a degree and $22.5 billion for those who studied finance.
However, the report suggests that multimillionaires in the making might be better off foregoing university altogether, as almost a third of the wealthiest people in the world do not have degrees. - © The Daily Telegraph, London