Wealthiest cardiologists tend to be men—least wealthy tend to be women

Approximately 28% of cardiologists in the United States have a net worth of more than $5 million, according to new survey data published by Medscape. That is the fourth highest percentage of any specialty, trailing only radiology (31%), gastroenterology (31%) and urology (33%).

These data come from Medscape’s 2024 Cardiology Wealth & Debt Report. More than 7,000 U.S. physicians participated by responding to a 10-minute survey from October 2023 to January 2024. Cardiology is one of dozens of specialties included in the analysis.

One key takeaway from the report was how men and women in cardiology compare when looking at overall net worth. For instance, 16% of male cardiologists have a net worth of more than $5 million—the same is true for just 6% of female cardiologists. In addition, 25% of male cardiologists have a net worth between $2 million and $5 million compared to 10% of female cardiologists.

On the other hand, 27% of female cardiologists have a net worth of less than $500,000 compared to 18% of male cardiologists, and 27% of female cardiologists have a net worth of $500,000 to $999,999 compared to 12% of male cardiologists.

When it came to cardiologists with a net worth between $1 million and $1.999 million, however, the percentages were almost identical for male (28%) and female (29%) cardiologists.

W. Ben Utley, service team leader with Physician Family Financial Advisors in Beaverton, Oregon, commented on these data for the final report. He expects it to take “decades” for the wealth gap between men and women in cardiology to change significantly.

Other key takeaways from the new data:

  • Six in 10 cardiologists said they live within their means. Another 7% said they live above their means, however, and 33% said they live below their means.
  • While a majority of cardiologists said they have not experienced serious financial losses in the last year, 22% of respondents did say they made bad investments on the stock market or elsewhere.
  • Just 29% of cardiologists think their investment portfolio will grow in the next year.

Read the full report, including more commentary from Utley and others, here.

Michael Walter
Michael Walter, Managing Editor

Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.

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