When it comes to hobbies, the world's wealthiest people are most interested in business, philanthropy and sports. That's according to research firm Wealth-X, which compiled the top 30 interests, passions and hobbies of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (the UHNW) in its latest report.
An interest in animals cracked the top 30 and, after diving deeper, Wealth-X found that the rich tend to be dog people rather than than cat people.
One animal did beat out dogs as the favorite, though: horses.
"Horses are the most popular UHNW animal, perhaps in part explained by universality, with a passion for horses in North America, Europe and the Middle East," reports Wealth-X. "Dogs are a close second, far eclipsing the popularity of their traditional rival cats."
According to a Mars Petcare survey, your pet preference may actually say a lot about your personality and lifestyle.
After surveying 1,000 dog owners and 1,000 cat owners, Mars Petcare found that dog owners are twice as likely to work in finance. Cat owners, on the other hand, are four times as likely to work in a creative field.
Dog owners also tend to have a higher average income, not that the extra income means much for the UHNW. That might come in handy, though, since the lifetime costs of owning a dog can come to a whopping $42,000, or far more than most people expect. By contrast, owning a cat tends to be slightly less cost prohibitive, though still more expensive than most people anticipate.
For more insights into the lives of the ultra rich, see the full Wealth-X report.
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