As America approaches the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, one theme is, of course, just how much independence women and people of color have had over those 250 years. For women, gaining financial independence has been a critical step to broader liberty, through efforts like the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974, which granted women full rights to access credit in their own names for the first time. <\/p>\n
Today, financial independence is often about knowledge\u2014and career opportunity\u2014as a precursor to power. So we were thrilled to partner with the Smithsonian American Women\u2019s History Museum for a Fortune Most Powerful Women event at Nasdaq<\/a> last night that tackled this exact topic. The forthcoming museum (which doesn\u2019t yet have a permanent home in D.C.) has explored women\u2019s financial independence through a project called We Do Declare<\/a>, in which curator Rachel Seidman interviewed women across generations about women\u2019s access to credit, financial services, and economic opportunity. <\/p>\n We were joined last night by experts in these fields, including Asahi Pompey<\/a>, who as president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation oversees major initiatives like 10,000 Small Businesses and One Million Black Women; Tory Burch Foundation president Tiffany<\/a> Dufu, who is working to execute the foundation\u2019s goal to add $1 billion to the U.S. economy through women entrepreneurs by 2030 (it\u2019s halfway there<\/a>); and Anne Ackerley, who led BlackRock\u2019s retirement group. Ackerley observed the basic gaps in knowledge that even the most successful women in business sometimes have when it comes to their personal finances, while Pompey reframed the more than $100 trillion Great Wealth Transfer\u2014women aren\u2019t just sitting around, waiting to inherit, she says. And, in fact, they did much of the work that created that wealth in the first place\u2014often without credit. <\/p>\n I interviewed Ida Liu, the Citi alum who is now CEO of HSBC Private Bank. (She was featured in this newsletter a few weeks ago<\/a>.) At Citi, she built the bank\u2019s media and fashion practice and saw the differences between women who build wealth through entrepreneurship and those who inherit or come into money through marriage or divorce. Liu has fielded calls from recent widows, who tell her they don\u2019t know how to log into their family\u2019s accounts. But self-made women don\u2019t have it all figured out either. \u201cWhat I hear from them most of the time is, \u2018I don\u2019t have time to do that,’\u201d Liu says. Liu\u2019s work spans the globe, but she says ultra-wealthy women don\u2019t behave that differently in different geographies. \u201cInvesting with purpose and impact<\/a>\u2014that\u2019s a global phenomenon,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Women don\u2019t respond to advisors or private bankers who immediately enter \u201cpitch mode\u201d without getting to know them or their goals first, she has seen. And her advice to any woman figuring out her finances, even without billions to invest: make clear your personal risk tolerance, be clear on your objectives, and if you\u2019re working with an advisor, look for someone with global and cultural fluency. And make sure to do an annual health check on the full scope of your finances. That\u2019s how women take wealth and turn it into power. <\/p>\n Thanks to the Smithsonian American Women\u2019s History Museum for partnering with us on this special evening. And, everyone, listen to Liu\u2019s advice! <\/p>\n Emma Hinchliffe The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune\u2019s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Subscribe here<\/a>.<\/p>\n ALSO IN THE HEADLINES<\/p>\n D\u00e9j\u00e0 vu.\u00a0Olivia Rodrigo is keeping the spirit of Lilith Fair alive. Her new Daisy Chain Fields Festival<\/a> features all women artists, and all of them are performing for free, with proceeds going to organizations from the Center for Reproductive Rights to the National Domestic Workers Alliance. “The first person I called when I decided I wanted to do this festival was Sarah McLachlan,” Rodrigo says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meta ditches Ray-Ban and adds Kylie Jenner.\u00a0The tech giant debuted new styles of its AI smart glasses; they don’t have Ray-Ban branding. One pair is called the Starfire Kylie Edition<\/a>, and they come with a mirror and a Meta AI that sounds like Kylie.\u00a0<\/p>\n Four years since\u00a0Dobbs. Roe v. Wade was overturned four years ago today. House Democratic Leadership and the Reproductive Freedom Caucus are holding a press conference<\/a> today, calling for legislation to protect and expand abortion access. And the organization Reproductive Freedom for All is launching a $23.5 million campaign before the midterms<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Democratic socialists sweep NYC.\u00a0Candidates including Claire Valdez won their primaries in New York last night. The victories hint at what might be on the table for Democrats in 2028<\/a>\u2014including whatever position Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez decides to run for.\u00a0<\/p>\n ON MY RADAR<\/p>\n Olivia Wilde had to disappear\u00a0The Cut<\/a><\/p>\n Are dads getting better?\u00a0The New Yorker<\/a><\/p>\n Trump changes pregnancy-prevention program to promote childbearing\u00a0Stateline<\/a><\/p>\n PARTING WORDS<\/p>\n “I was so excited. I felt like there was a great story there for girls.”<\/p>\n
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com<\/a><\/p>\n