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.)
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.
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.
| # | Personality | Age | Net Worth | Source of wealth | Nationality | Marital status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Milane Frantz | 45 | $6 billion | Enterprise Products – from father Dan L. Duncand d. 2010 | American | Married |
| 19 | Randa Duncan Williams | 53 | $6 billion | Enterprise Products – from father Dan L. Duncand d. 2010 | American | Married |
| 18 | Dannine Avara | 41 | $6 billion | Enterprise Products – from father Dan L. Duncand d. 2010 | American | Married |
| 17 | Pansy Ho | 53 | $6.5 billion | Shun Tak Holdings – from father Stanley Ho in 2015 | Hong Kong Chinese | Divorced |
| 16 | Huiyan Yang | 34 | $7 billion | Country Garden Holding RE – transferred from father Yeung Kwok Keung in 2007 | Chinese | Married |
| 15 | Margarita Louis-Dreyfus | 53 | $8 billion | Louis Dreyfus – from husband Robert Louis-Dreyfus d. 2009 | Russian-Swiss | Widowed |
| 14 | Antonia Johnson | 72 | $8 billion | Johnson Group – from father Axel Johnson d. 1988 | Swedish-American | Single |
| 13 | Elaine Marshall | 70 | $9 billion | Koch Industries – from husband E. Pierce Marshall d. 2006 | American | Divorced |
| 12 | Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken | 61 | $11 billion | Heineken – from father Freddy Heineken d. 2002 | Italian | Married |
| 11 | Miuccia Prada | 66 | $11 billion | Prada – from grandfather Mario Prada in 1978 | Italian | Married |
| 10 | Gina Rinehart | 62 | $12 billion | Resource shares – from father Lang Hancock d. 1992 | Australian | Divorced |
| 9 | Johanna Quandt | 89 | $13 billion | BMW shares – from husband Herbert Quandt d. 1982 | German | Widowed |
| 8 | Laurene Powell Jobs | 52 | $14 billion | Largest Apple shareholder – from husband Steve Jobs d. 2011 | American | Widowed |
| 7 | Ann Cox Chambers | 96 | $15 billion | Owner Cox Enterprises – from father James M. Cox d. 1957 | American | Married |
| 6 | Abigail Johnson | 54 | $17 billion | Fidelity: replaced father (owner) as CEO in 2014 | American | Married |
| 5 | Susanne Klatten | 53 | $18 billion | BMW, Altana shares – from father Herbert Quandt d. 1982 | German | Married |
| 4 | Jacqueline Mars | 76 | $20 billion | Mars shares – from father Forest Mars Sr. d. 1999 | American | Divorced |
| 3 | Alice Walton | 66 | $36 billion | Wal Mart shares – from father Sam Walton d. 1992 | American | Divorced |
| 2 | Liliane Bettencourt | 93 | $37 billion | L’Oreal shares – from husband Andre Bettencourt d. 2007 | French | Widowed |
| 1 | Christy Walton | 60 | $39 billion | Wal Mart and First Solar shares – from husband John Walton killed 2005 | American | Widowed |
