The movie Spiderman taught us – ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’ The ultimate truth is as true as it may hold: “With great money comes great power and therefore greater responsibility.’ From time immemorial, women have been shown the backdoor in terms of every opportunity or inheritance or merely any kind of chance in a patriarchal world. However, this list includes the top 10 richest woman in the world – women who have it in their power to change the future of this earth.
It is time to scroll down and figure out those ladies who are out there making a difference.
Table of Contents
10 richest woman in the world
1. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers
Taking the crown as the richest lady in the world as per every survey made – Ms. Meyers is the granddaughter of the L’Oreal cosmetics brand’s founder. Her primary wealth accumulation is from L’Oreal and Tethys Invest. A resident of France, her monetary wealth totalled $95 billion, and her name initially appeared on the list of billionaires back in 2018.
Being a board member, her contribution to the brand is unmatchable. What is noteworthy – during her tenure, the philanthropic activities of L’Oreal have scaled new heights, with the cosmetic behemoth pledging $226 million to repair the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Image Credit: Al Bawaba
2. Alice Louise Walton
Definitely one of the richest woman in the world especially holding the 2nd position; she is the daughter of Walmart’s founder with $65.3 billion in her kitty. In 2016, it was noted that she owned close to $11 billion in Walmart shares. Starting off as an equity analyst for an organization and heading the investment department in the Arvest Bank Group, Walton knows exactly what it takes to rule the market.
As the chair of the Northwest Arkansas Council, she was the head behind the funding of this airport. She is known to categorically fund multiple electoral candidates along with her association with multiple Walmart philanthropy organizations.
3. Julia Koch
Owning the Koch Industries (largest in the USA) along with her children, Julia Margaret Flesher Koch is David Koch’s widow. She inherited her 42% stake in Koch Industries from him.
In terms of other activities – she serves as the President of the David Koch Foundation. Also, she makes regular donations to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Lincoln Centre.
4. Mackenzie Scott
Just because the lady happened to be the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos does not mean that one can put her wealth away casually. One cannot forget that this lady – touted as one of the richest woman in the world has made hefty contributions during the Covid pandemic.
A novelist in her own right, she won the American Book Award in 2005 for her debut novel – The Testing of Luther Albright. Owning a 4% stake in the company, her professional worth comes to $37.6 billion, per the latest survey.
Her philanthropic activities include numerous donations to – The giving Pledge and a whole lot of charitable institutions. The total of her activities went up to $5.8 billion just in 2020.
5. Jacqueline Mars
The lady has been making her fortunes from the company that prepares pet feed. A US-based investor and heiress, she is the granddaughter of Mars, Incorporated’s founder – the conglomerate that keeps brands such as Pedigree and IAMS under its command.
With a net worth of $31 billion and some more – this company dabbles in candies, pet food, and a range of nutritional products. Back in 2019, Ms. Mars was the wealthiest person living in Virginia. Being the trustee to the US Equestrian Team and a routine donor to the League of Conservation Voters – Lady Mars does have a packed life to look forward to – especially as the richest woman in the world.
Image Credit: Celebrity Family
6. Gina Rinehart
From the Australian domain comes this lady with a fortune of over $30 billion in mining – Georgina Hope Rinehart is helming the chair of Hancock Prospecting (mineral and extraction company). When inherited by her, the mining organization was valued at merely A$75 million, which under her kept expanding – thereby increasing its presence.
To acquire shares beyond the mining range into cattle areas, agriculture, and media holdings was entirely her idea, and the returns from all of them were maximum. As Australia’s richest person, she was the earliest to reach billionaire status. In fact, a 2021 land survey depicted her to be the single largest landholder in Australia, with an area of 9.2 million hectares under her command.
In terms of her philanthropic activities – she has funded campaigns against human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Rinehart was also appointed as Officer of the Order of Australia in 1922 for her distinguished service to the mining sector and in, extension to the community.
7. Miriam Adelson
As an American Israeli physician and widow of billionaire Sheldon Adelson, the Republican kingmaker and casino magnate, with a net worth of $29.5 billion, her ownership of Las Vegas Sands stands at 50%. Even though the pandemic has downturned the casino business, her fortunes show no signs of slowing down.
As the current publisher of the Israeli newspaper – Israel Hayom, she has her name on the University of South California board of trustees. In her crown of glory is the Presidential Medal of Freedom that Donald Trump awarded her in 2018.
8. Susanne Klatten
With all its class, the BMW has a lady leading it with a 19.2% share. Talking of Susanne Hanna Ursula Klatten, the German heiress, is the sole owner as well as Deputy Chairperson of Atlanta (a chemical and pharmaceutical giant).
She holds a degree in marketing and management from the University of Buckingham, one has to give her credit for her contribution to turning Atlanta into a world-class corporation and surely making it a part of the top 30 companies. As one of the richest woman in the world, she also has stakes in Landa Digital Printing, SGL Carbon, and SKion.
9. Iris Balbina Fontbona Gonzalez
Ranked 9th in the list of the richest woman in the world Mrs. Fontbona – widow of – Andronico Luksik Abaroa (Chilean magnate), this lady shares her fortunes left by her husband with her children. Being the wealthiest person in Chile, the areas in which her company dabbles include mining and media. The primary stockholding comes from Antofagasta PLC, which comes from her late husband.
Mr. Abaroa died from cancer in 2005. Since his death, Ms. Iris, along with her children, has been heading multiple organizations – some of which are: Quinenco (the public trading company manufacturing copper products) as well as CCU (Chile’s largest brewer), and CSAV (shipping company)
Post her life partner’s unfortunate death – Ms. Fontbona has singlehandedly helped these companies reach heights of success. In fact, she has extended the business to include a chain of luxury hotels and resorts in Croatia. Additionally, she got a 70% stake in Canal 13 (the Chilean TV station).
Image Credit: Luxury Adobe
The power of this woman is clearly seen in the statistics – that with Fontbona taking over the reins of the business in her hands, she had turned her brewery and shipping business into the largest in Chile.
The lady also knows how to share! She donated US$3.9 million to the Chilean Telethon, which aims to serve children who are specially-abled. Thus, comes a woman with a very low profile but a strong mind to change the course of the Chilean economy.
10. Abigail Pierrepont Johnson
Prior to her father – Ned Johnson, the third’s passing away in 2022, Johnson has been the CEO of Fidelity Investments (a US-based investment firm) since 2014. With her position as Fidelity’s chairperson, she is currently valued professionally at $21.5 billion. This makes her the tenth richest billionaire on this planet, and she holds an estimated 24.5% shares in the company.
She also is the serving chair of the international branch of this investment firm – Fidelity International. Named the richest person in Massachusetts in 2020, the 60-year-old lady is one hell of a fighter (never backing down even against her father)
Taking up every challenge head-on, she steered her firm to success even amidst the global turndown due to the Covid Pandemic. In fact, it is due to her that Fidelity Investments has successfully dabbled in cryptocurrency, with Ethereum and bitcoin being the most valued asset.
She is also known to have a huge heart, and it is seen by her donations to various political and social campaigns undertaken by the government. The Harvard MBA graduate is not just the first but the only woman to serve on the board of the Financial Services Forum to date.
This list of the richest women in the world shows the change in the current global economy. Hope to add on and salute some more to this list.