The Seven Pearls of Financial Wisdom—A Woman's Guide to Enjoying Wealth and Power

By two leading financial experts: an essential guide for every woman who wants to build, preserve, and enjoy her wealth.

Women control more than half of all wealth in the U .S., and in 2011 held the majority of jobs in the workforce. As women’s earnings, freedom and influence increase, the old sequential patterns of education, marriage, motherhood, and retirement no longer apply. A woman may set up a foundation in her twenties—when she sells her first company, support her family as the primary breadwinner in her thirties, start a new career in her sixties and remarry in her seventies. Today women cycle repeatedly but not in any traditional order through these stages: wealth building, romance and marriage, motherhood, power, crisis and loss, retirement, legacy building. The Seven Pearls of Financial Wisdom offers women one invaluable pearl of wisdom for each of these key areas, helping them move beyond outdated financial-planning ideas to enjoy their power, transforming both their money and their lives.

Carol Pepper has worked as a top adviser to ultra-wealthy families for more than twenty-five years. She is the Founder and CEO of Pepper International, an award winning family office in New York City, which celebrated its ten year anniversary in 2011. Carol advises global families who have over $100 million on all aspects of wealth management and how to transfer their fortune successfully to the next generation. Carol is a highly sought after global speaker and is regularly quoted in the top financial press. Prior to starting her firm, Carol managed over $1 billion of private client assets as a Portfolio Manager at Rockefeller & Co., a family office founded by the Rockefeller family. Carol was also a Principal at Morgan Stanley and a private banker at JP Morgan and Credit Suisse.

Camilla Webster is a Forbes contributor and top international journalist who covers Wall Street, the global economy, technology, billionaires and women's wealth. She is a regular guest onThe John Batchelor Show on WABC Radio and has appeared multiple times on MSNBC, CNBC, and Fox News. As a producer for Fox News, CBS News and a broadcast news editor forThe Wall Street Journal she has covered business and world affairs from Baghdad to Washington DC. Her articles have been published in theWall Street Journal, the New York Post and MarketWatch.com. She twice representedForbes at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland and is a respected moderator for conferences on investment and economic development. Camilla is also the co-founder of the popular website nynatives.com.

"[A] gem of a book...Women in every phase of life, regardless of their financial status, will find something of interest in this guide to economic success. Men may learn something as well."--Library Journal (starred review)

"The growing economic power of women globally is undisputed. In The Seven Pearls of Financial Wisdom: A Woman's Guide to Enjoying Wealth and Power, authors Camilla Webster and Carol Pepper have created an excellent in depth action plan for women and families in response to a changing world. It is must read for women in the 21st century." --Nouriel Roubini

"Women in history have long been at the center of wealth and power but never have so many women had the chance to control their financial destiny. In The Seven Pearls of Financial Wisdom authors Carol Pepper and Camilla Webster offer women a rich trove of practical direction and inspiring examples on how to enjoy their new level of power in the 21st Century."--Dr. Amanda Foreman, Author of A World On Fire and Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire


"Women often think it's too scary and too hard to take responsibility for their own financial destiny, and many wait for a man to do the job. But who needs Prince Charming when Carol Pepper and Camilla Webster have come up with all the answers? The Seven Pearls of Financial Wisdom is an impressively comprehensive guide that tells women everything they need to know to support and protect their economic interests at every stage of life."--Leslie Bennetts, Author of The Feminine Mistake: Are We Giving Up Too Much?

"The Seven Pearls of Financial Wisdom is an extraordinary helpful guide for women in all aspects of wealth management. The book offers practical solutions to real world issues such as divorce, trust and estate planning and creating investment policy. A must read for all high-net-worth women and the advisors who serve them."--Kristen Oliveri, Managing Editor, Private Asset Management

"A must-read, Camilla Webster and Carol Pepper are empowering women to boldly step into their power and navigate a whole new economy in which women are the major players. Most importantly, they are blazing a trail for future generations of women to experience and enjoy unprecedented financial freedom."--Natalie MacNeil, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, She Takes on the World Inc.

"Finally, a realistic financial bible for the modern American woman! The Seven Pearls of Financial Wisdom is a wealth of surprising information for a new generation of women who are getting married and having children later than ever before, if ever. From how much it actually costs to prepare for a romantic date, to what you need to save to preserve your fertility now, and invest in your fertility years down the road, read this book and empower yourself."--Melanie Notkin, Founder and CEO, SavvyAuntie.com and national best-selling author, Savvy Auntie.

"The Seven Pearls advice on starting your own business, building your own wealth, and banking on your appearance are spot on. As successful female entrepreneurs, Camilla Webster and Carol Pepper not only talk the talk, they walk the walk. The book demonstrates to women what can be achieved in and alongside corporate America. Don't miss out on a single pearl - this information is priceless!" -- Liz Lange

"With wisdom, perspective, insight, pragmatism, and emotional intelligence, Carol Pepper and Camilla Webster here deliver invaluable and timeless guidance that investors all over the world can effectively apply to improve their investment performance."-- David M. Darst, CFA, Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney


"As a committed alumna of Bryn Mawr College, Carol has generously shared her financial advice with our students and alumnae alike. In collaboration with Camilla Webster, she now makes her guidance available to a wider audience. They draw upon both data and life stories to provide women with advice on developing and maintaining lifetime financial independence." --Jane McAuliffe, President, Bryn Mawr College

WEALTH BUILDING
THE FIRST PEARL OF FINANCIAL WISDOM: A Woman Must Build Her Own Wealth


THE FIRST PEARL OF WISDOM we want to offer you is that a woman must build her own wealth. Traditionally, we have been raised to think that somehow, magically, our financial well-being will be taken care of by others, either by family inheritance or, more likely, by marrying a man who earns a lot of money.
It is understandable that most of us have never really considered the idea of building our own wealth; only in the last few years has it even been a realistic possibility. Women couldn't get a business loan on their own until the 1970s in America. As Ana Harvey, the assistant administrator for women's business ownership at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) explains,
Congress passed the Equal Credit Opportunity Act in 1974, which, among other things, made it illegal for creditors to discriminate against anyone on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or whether or not a person is receiving public assistance. Suddenly women, who had always been required to have a male cosigner, could secure loans on their own, at least in theory. In fact, women continued to face significant discrimination for a number of years.
It wasn't until 1988 and the passage of the Women's Business Ownership Act that the needs of women in business-such as access to resources and the elimination of discriminatory lending practices by banks that favored male business owners-were addressed. It was a move that Julie Weeks, the head of Womenable, a research, program, and policy-development consultancy whose mission is to improve the environment for women-owned businesses worldwide, calls "the big bang in women's entrepreneurship." According to the American Express OPEN State of Women-Owned Businesses report, in 2011 there were an estimated 8.1 million women-owned businesses in the United States, generating $1.3 trillion in revenues and employing nearly 7.7 million people.1
Here is the grain of sand that first enters our snug shell-the unfortunate reality of what happens to a woman who does not assume responsibility for building her own wealth: She develops an unspoken terror that one day she will be the little old homeless bag lady she sees on the street. A report from the Center for Progress called Straight Facts on Women and Poverty reveals that 13.8 percent of women are poor in the United States versus 11.1 percent of men. Over the age of seventy-five, 13 percent of women are poor versus 6 percent of men. This gap is bigger here than in any other developed country in the world.2 Three quarters of the women with incomes below the poverty line are single women. We say a woman "must" build her own wealth to avoid becoming an unfortunate statistic. We really must take care of ourselves!
THE GRAIN OF SAND IN THE OYSTER SHELL
Do you know a woman who ...
• Works in a low-paying, service-oriented job?
• Has a great corporate job but still earns less than the men in her field?
• Has been divorced and has had to lower her standard of living?
• Has been divorced and has to pay alimony to her husband?
• Has to shoulder the entire burden of child support because of an ex-husband who won't pay?
• Has a wonderful husband who lost his job and can't find another one?
• Has a husband who became ill and can no longer work?
• Has been widowed and whose late husband left insufficient funds for her retirement years?
• Has no money saved for retirement and no idea what she will do to support herself in her old age?
• Is one of the 13 percent of American women who are poor in their old age (versus only 6 percent of men)?