The Richer You Are, the Better Your Sex Life, Survey Finds

The richer you are, apparently, the better sex you have. That's according to a recent survey of more than 600 high-net-worth individuals. And rich women, it seems, enjoy sex the most.

"In seeking a higher-quality sexual experience the number of well-heeled women that lead more adventurous and exotic sex lives, have had an affair, or joined the mile-high club far outdistances that of men — and the affluent gender gap in views on sex doesn't end there," Hannah Shaw Grove and Russ Alan Prince, two well-known researchers on the habits of the rich and famous, found.

Grove and Prince surveyed people with an average net worth of $89 million, and who make more than $9 million per year. They found that money is an enabler in a number of ways to enhance sexual experiences.

"The majority of men and women credit their private wealth with achieving a better sex life. When viewed separately, a larger percentage of women agree with the statement, perhaps indicating that females derive a greater degree of empowerment from their financial independence than their male counterparts," the survey, "Money as an Aphrodisiac — Being Rich Means Getting Lucky on Your Own Terms," found.

Some 84 percent of rich women and 63 percent of rich men say having money means having better sex.

In the survey, three-quarters of men cited more frequent sex and a greater variety of partners as the primary benefits of having wealth, revealing a fascination with quantity. "In short, men equate more with better," Grove and Prince write.

By contrast, women placed significantly less value on the volume of sexual interactions and partners they had than the overall excellence of the experience: Nearly 93 percent of women cited higher-quality sex as the greatest sexual benefit of personal wealth — and the biggest benefit overall to being rich. "And while having sex with multiple partners simultaneously was less important to both genders, more than three times as many men cited it as a benefit than women did," Grove and Prince said.

The rich people surveyed believe their fortunes allow them to lead more daring and exciting sex lives than they otherwise would have if they had less money.

"It is difficult to identify the benchmark for adventurous and exotic sex — since what might entice one person could leave another indifferent," Grove and Prince noted. "But the much higher response rate from wealthy women once again underscores the liberating byproducts of money as it relates to sexual exploration."

For example, 72 percent of wealthy women say they have now joined the "mile high club," which means they have had sex in an airplane. Meanwhile, 33 percent of men say they have had sex in flight.

The survey found that all of the participants owned private jets, either partially or outright. So wealth affording privacy may explain the high membership percentages there.

The average age of the survey respondents was 57 and most of them, 85 percent, are currently married. More than half of respondents had been divorced at least once and almost half, 44 percent, had already remarried.

Yet, money doesn't instill a sense of fidelity: 53 percent of the wealthy men surveyed, and 73 percent of the wealthy women surveyed say they have had extramarital affairs.

According to "The Monogamy Myth: A Personal Handbook for Dealing with Affairs," 60 percent of men and 40 percent of women will have an extramarital affair.

And while Grove and Prince point out that the world's wealthiest men and women feel the same way about sex as their less wealthy counterparts do — that is, feel sex is important — clearly having more money can add to the experience.