Women Wielding $365 Billion Lead ‘Sideways’ Succession Boom

Wall Street has spent years preparing for $105 trillion to pass from elderly parents to their children, but a different kind of wealth transfer is already underway.

More than a dozen women in the world’s 500 richest people have become billionaires after the death of a spouse, the highest number ever. These so-called sideways inheritances are increasingly shaping global business as women take over huge empires, from finance to consumer goods and gambling.