For centuries, humans have believed that the future is written in the stars.
Today, astrology isn’t too central to the lives of most people, but aficionados still believe the day a person is born can influence various aspects of life, from personality and dating compatibility to career paths.
So for the 70 million Americans who read their horoscopes every day, it might be easy to believe their zodiac sign could be the reason they aren’t stinking rich, or that it makes them destined for fame—and the results of a recent study might lend some credence to those beliefs.
Using available birthdate information for the top 300 billionaires on the Forbes Billionaires 2022 rich list, U.K. lender Cashfloat ranked how common each zodiac sign was among the world’s wealthiest people.
According to the research, Libra—the star sign given to those born between late September and late October—appeared more frequently on the rich list than any other zodiac sign, with 32 of the world’s wealthiest people sharing the sign. Capricorns, born between December and January, were the least common billionaires, with just 15 appearing on the list.
Zodiac signs most likely to be a billionaire
- Libra – 12%
- Pisces – 11%
- Taurus – 10%
- Leo – 9%
- Aries – 8%
- Virgo – 8%
- Gemini – 8%
- Aquarius – 7.5%
- Cancer – 7.5%
- Sagittarius – 7.5%
- Scorpio – 6%
- Capricorn 5.5%
While Libra was the zodiac sign that appeared most frequently on the Forbes rich list, it didn’t feature among the 10 wealthiest billionaires on the list and narrowly made it into the top 20.
The only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton—and the second richest woman in the world—Alice Walton, is the richest Libra on the list, with a net worth of $65.3 billion.
Pisces was the second most common sign among billionaires, with 29 people on Forbes’ list sharing the sign. Bernard Arnault, a Pisces who co-founded of luxury goods giant LVMH, placed third on Forbes‘ 2022 rich list but is now ranked as the wealthiest person in the world.
Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, who became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire at 23, is a Taurus, which Cashfloat said was the third most common star sign.
Astrology has long been debunked by experts who widely agree that it has no scientific clout.
However, one in three Americans believe astrology is “very” or “sort of” scientific, and some business leaders even go as far as to let it influence hiring decisions.
Meanwhile, some believers also blame their bosses’ star sign for negative experiences at work.
The astrology industry has boomed in recent years, with revenue for U.S. astrology-based apps surging almost 65% in before hitting $44 million in 2021.
Given the recent explosion in zodiac-reading, particularly among millennials, some companies see encouraging a little light hearted astrology talk in the workplace as a way of establishing common ground among co-workers who believe their colleagues’ star signs will tell them a lot about their personalities.
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