There are now 108 women among the UK?s 1,000 richest people - the first time the proportion has surpassed 10%, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.
Among these is the UK?s first self-made woman billionaire, Specsavers founder Dame Mary Perkins who, together with her family, is worth �1.15bn, a 42% increase from last year.
The highest new entry among the women is Xiuli Hawken, 48, worth �1.066bn, who made her property fortune converting air raid shelters in China into underground shopping malls.
The list, compiled by Philip Beresford, is based on identifiable wealth, such as land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly quoted companies, and excludes bank accounts.
After plummeting by �155bn in 2009, the 2011 list shows that the fortunes of the UK's 1000 wealthiest people have recovered from the recession, increasing by 18% overall in the past year. Their combined worth now stands at �395.8bn.
The number of billionaires in the UK now stands at 73, a significant increase from last year?s total of 53, and almost matching the record of 75 set in the pre-crisis List of 2008, when the collective wealth of the top 1,000 was �413bn.
Rose Byrne Lauren German Brooke Burns Malin Akerman Amber Valletta
