Richest Women in the World – Net Worth

Ladies, rejoice! Well, take heart anyway. Most of you (and most men as well) are unlikely to ever reach the giddy heights of financial independence associated with becoming a billionaire, but the percentage of women reaching that target measured against men is increasing annually, and they are spread around the world, not only in the largest economies of the USA and China (yes, several ladies, independent too, are located in China.)

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Sadly (perhaps!?) none of the richest 20 women are actually self-made: they have inherited at least a large part of their wealth, which is not to say that they haven’t built on it. Of course, women live on average 5% longer lives than men world-wide, so it’s not surprising that male partners leave a large part of their wealth to their female partner, and of course in many cases to female offspring. Regardless, the number of self-made female billionaires* is also on the rise, although currently to a much lesser extent than women with largely inherited wealth, which is also probably unsurprising given that until the current generation, the attitude in most, including western cultures was that ‘the woman’s place is in the home’. The richest self-made woman in the world ranks 22nd.

Latest figures published by authoritative sources in late 2015 show a more than 15% percent rise in women billionaires in a year, now at 197 up from 172 in 2014, of 1826 and of 1748 total billionaires respectively, so currently 11% of the total number, up over 1% in a year. These numbers and percentages regarding women seem sure to rise, as more women, and therefore their ideas about many aspects of so many varying businesses attract a growing number of female clients – not forgetting that women have a greater say now within the household, and women themselves have far more disposable income now than, say, 30 years ago.

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The following list is of the richest 20 women in the world, including nationality, source of wealth and marital status which sadly often reflects family losses. Total wealth can vary considerably from day-to-day given the volatility of share markets around the world, in which a great deal of wealth is literally invested or company values estimated, so do not be surprised if the net worth of some individuals is different when you read the article from when it was compiled in early 2016.

#PersonalityAgeNet WorthSource of wealthNationalityMarital status
20Milane Frantz45$6 billionEnterprise Products – from father Dan L. Duncand d. 2010AmericanMarried
19Randa Duncan Williams53$6 billionEnterprise Products – from father Dan L. Duncand d. 2010AmericanMarried
18Dannine Avara41$6 billionEnterprise Products – from father Dan L. Duncand d. 2010AmericanMarried
17Pansy Ho53$6.5 billionShun Tak Holdings – from father Stanley Ho in 2015Hong Kong ChineseDivorced
16Huiyan Yang34$7 billionCountry Garden Holding RE – transferred from father Yeung Kwok Keung in 2007ChineseMarried
15Margarita Louis-Dreyfus53$8 billionLouis Dreyfus – from husband Robert Louis-Dreyfus d. 2009Russian-SwissWidowed
14Antonia Johnson72$8 billionJohnson Group – from father Axel Johnson d. 1988Swedish-AmericanSingle
13Elaine Marshall70$9 billionKoch Industries – from husband E. Pierce Marshall d. 2006AmericanDivorced
12Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken61$11 billionHeineken – from father Freddy Heineken d. 2002ItalianMarried
11Miuccia Prada66$11 billionPrada – from grandfather Mario Prada in 1978ItalianMarried
10Gina Rinehart62$12 billionResource shares – from father Lang Hancock d. 1992AustralianDivorced
9Johanna Quandt89$13 billionBMW shares – from husband Herbert Quandt d. 1982GermanWidowed
8Laurene Powell Jobs52$14 billionLargest Apple shareholder – from husband Steve Jobs d. 2011AmericanWidowed
7Ann Cox Chambers96$15 billionOwner Cox Enterprises – from father James M. Cox d. 1957AmericanMarried
6Abigail Johnson54$17 billionFidelity: replaced father (owner) as CEO in 2014AmericanMarried
5Susanne Klatten53$18 billionBMW, Altana shares – from father Herbert Quandt d. 1982GermanMarried
4Jacqueline Mars76$20 billionMars shares – from father Forest Mars Sr. d. 1999AmericanDivorced
3Alice Walton66$36 billionWal Mart shares – from father Sam Walton d. 1992AmericanDivorced
2Liliane Bettencourt93$37 billionL’Oreal shares – from husband Andre Bettencourt d. 2007FrenchWidowed
1Christy Walton60$39 billionWal Mart and First Solar shares – from husband John Walton killed 2005AmericanWidowed


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