Prospective university students set on making their millions should sign up for engineering lectures.

More than a fifth, or 22pc, of the world’s wealthiest people studied engineering at university, accounting for almost twice as many billionaires’ degrees as the next most popular choice.

A business education has helped 12pc of plutocrats amass their fortunes, while nine per cent of the fattest cats studied an arts subject at university – more than those who specialised in business-oriented topics such as economics and finance.