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Oprah Winfrey is NOT the only self-made female billionaire in the world. In fact, Forbes 2012 billionaires list shows that the highest number of self-made billionaire women come from China,topping the list is Wu Yajun.
Only 14 of the world's 1,226 billionaires are women who made their own money rather than inherited all or part of it.
1.Wu Yajun
Source: Real Estate ,self-made
Age:48 , China
The richest self-made woman in the world is a former journalist. Wu graduated from the Department of Navigation Engineering of the Northwestern Polytechnical University in 1984, and from 1988 to 1993 worked as a journalist and editor with the China Shirong News Agency. Shares in Wu's Hong Kong-listed real estate developer Longfor Properties rose by a quarter from a year earlier, and contract sales for 2010 soared 81% from a year earlier to $5 billion. From its roots in Chongqing in central China, Longfor has been expanding in relatively profitable markets in first-tier cites. Longfor listed its shares in Hong Kong Nov. 2009. Wu shares her fortune with her husband, who also holds a stake in the company.
2.Rosalia Mera
Source: Zara, self-made
Age: 68 , Spain
Marital Status: Divorced , Children: 2
Helped then husband Amancio Ortega make dressing gowns, lingerie in their home. It became one of world's most successful apparel manufacturers, Inditex, which owns Zara stores. Couple divorced years ago, but Mera still holds 7% stake; at time of IPO, also got $600 million in cash, which she's invested in a Spanish film production outfit, a marine fish farming group, a company that looks for cancer treatments in compounds found in the sea and a maker of a fingerprinting identification system for newborns. Her Paideia Foundation helps people with physical and mental disabilities.
3.Chu Lam Yiu
Net Worth Last Calculated: March 2011
Source: Flavorings, self-made
Age:41 , Hong Kong ,Marital Status: Married
Hong Kong tycoon chairs Huabao International, which makes tobacco flavorings for China's top cigarette makers; also makes fragrances and food flavorings for use in detergents, beverages, dairy products and cosmetics. Founded the company a decade ago and took it public through a reverse takeover. Sold chunk of shares in 2008 and again in October 2009; still owns big stake.
4.Zhang Xin
Source: Real estate, self-made
Age:46 , China,
Marital Status: Married ,Children: 2
Founded and runs Beijing property developer Soho China with her husband, Pan Shiyi. Last year made the biggest land purchase in Beijing by a non-state-owned company, $586 million for 12 acres. Earned a master's degree in development economics from Cambridge University in 1992. Got start at international firms Goldman Sachs, Travelers Group.
4.Oprah Winfrey
Net Worth Last Calculated: March 2011
Source: Television, self-made
Age: 57 , United States
Title: Media Personality ,Organization: The Oprah Winfrey Show
Marital Status: Single, Citizenship: United States
Education: BA/BS, Tennessee State University
Born to single teenage mother, Oprah grew up on grandmother's farm in Mississippi. Moved to Wisconsin where she says she was a victim of sexual abuse. Talk show debuted in 1986, now a haven for women worldwide. Guests range from celebrities to politicians to victims of abuse. Expanded empire includes broadcasts around world, O magazine, esteemed book club and "favorite things" lists. Daytime talk queen is moved show to a night slot on the new Oprah Winfrey Network cable channel.
6.Doris Fisher
Net worth: $2.3 billion - As of March 2012
Source: Gap, self-made
Age: 80 , United States
Founded Gap in 1969 with her late husband Donald, who died in September of cancer at age 81. Originally a San Francisco jeans and music store, Gap empire grew to more than 3,000 locations and expanded to include Banana Republic, Gap Kids and Old Navy. Owns large contemporary art collection. Handed control to sons John, Robert and William in 2004.
6.Chan Laiwa
Source: Real estate, self-made
Age: 71 , China
Marital Status: Married
"Cultural diplomat" of China chairs Fu Wah International Group, one of Beijing's largest commercial property developers. Fu Wah's biggest project, Jinbao Street in the city's Chaoyang district, includes Regent Hotel, the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Ferrari and Lamborghini as partners. Fu Wah launched its first luxury residential project "Mandarin Court" in Beijing last December. The average asking price: $12,000 per square meter. Chan is also curator and founder of China Red Sandalwood Museum located in the Jinbao area.
8.Giuliana Benetton
Source: Benetton, self-made
Age: 74 , Italy
In 1965 formed Benetton Group with siblings: Luciano, Carlo and Gilberto. The $2.7 billion (sales) clothing company sells brands like United Colors of Benetton, Sisley. Edizione, the family holding company, owns stakes in Atlantia, one of world's largest toll-road companies, and Autogrill restaurants, which serve customers on highways and in airports around the world. Giuliana originally knitted sweaters that brother Luciano would then peddle by bicycle.
9.Xiu Li Hawken
Source: Real estate, self-made
Age: 48 , United Kingdom
Marital Status: Married
London resident is the main shareholder of Hong Kong-listed Chinese real estate company Renhe Commercial Holdings, which specializes in underground shopping malls. It's been a rough ride for investors that purchased the company's IPO in October 2008; shares have tanked by 35%. Renhe in January said it would pay $292 million for an 80% stake in properties in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi. Hawken, who has been chairperson since 2002, assists directors in formulating strategies, according to the company's prospectus. Hawken holds an undergraduate degree in Chinese literature from Heilongjiang University. Her brother Dai Yongge is the company's CEO. Dai's wife Zhang Xingmei is also on Renhe's board of directors.
10.Meg Whitman
Net worth: $1.4 billion - As of March 2012
Source: Ebay, self-made
Age: 55 , United States
Marital Status: Married ,Children: 2The former eBay chief may have dug $144 million deep into her pocket book for her failed run at the California governor's seat in November, but her finances--and ranking--are up thanks to her remaining eBay stock's performance. In addition to her personal coffers Whitman raised $30 million from supporters including ex-Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang in what was the costliest state-level campaign in U.S. history. Joined eBay in 1998; led through Internet boom and bust. Expanded services to Europe, Asia, Latin America. Acquired PayPal, Skype, StubHub. Resigned from boards of eBay, Procter & Gamble and DreamWorks last year to concentrate on gubernatorial race. Earlier in her career, Princeton grad had worked at P&G, Disney and Hasbro.
11.Lei Jufang
Source: Pharmaceuticals, self-made
Age: 58 , China
The self-made billionaire runs Tibet Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine, which makes ointments, plasters and powders designed to relieve pain and respiratory problems. Shares, first publicly offered in August 2010, trade at 46 times trailing earnings. Has a degree in vacuum physics.
12.Elena Baturina
Source: Construction, self-made
Age: 49 , Russia
Marital Status: Married ,Children: 2
Powerful wife of Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov started out as a factory worker, then entered the Moscow Institute of Management. In 1991 started plastic-products company Inteko, which produced furniture and crockery but has since expanded into construction and construction materials. Froze construction on several expensive real estate projects in Moscow as result of 2008 financial crisis. Now her newly formed company, Patriot, is focusing on affordable housing. Helped restore gigantic monument, Worker and Collective Farmer, reinstalled in November 2009, at a cost of $100 million.
13.Yan Cheung
Source: Paper , self-made
Age: 55 ,China
Marital Status: Married ,Children: 1
China's paper queen makes a big comeback: Worth $265 million in October 2008.Daughter of a Guangdong Province army officer and eldest of eight children, Yan got her start importing waste paper in Hong Kong in 1985. After a stint running a recycling plant in the U.S., Yan returned to China to launch Nine Dragons (whose name implies "highest fortune") with her husband Liu Ming Ching and brother Zhang Chengfei. All three are billionaires; she is chairman.
14. Sara Blakely
Net worth: $1 billion - As of March 2012
Spanx, self-made
Age: 41 ,United States , Residence: Atlanta, GA
Marital Status: Married , Children: 1
American businesswoman, Sara Blakely has an estimated net worth of $1 billion as of March 2012 according to Forbes list. Blakely founded Spanx, a multi-million dollar undergarment company. She is the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire. She was 29 when she invested her entire life savings, $5,000, trying to come up with something flattering to wear under her white slacks. Six months later, the one-time Disney World ride greeter and door-to-door fax machine salesperson found her new line of shaping underwear, Spanx, named one of Oprah Winfrey’s Favorite Things.
FAQs
Are there any self-made women billionaires? ›
Want to see it on more articles? Give your feedback below or email. The world has 124 self-made female billionaires, approximately two-thirds from China, according to a report released Tuesday.
Who is the first self-made billionaire female? ›...
| Madam C.J. Walker | |
|---|---|
| Died | May 25, 1919 (aged 51) Irvington, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) |
Getty Images Rihanna is America's youngest self-made billionaire woman, as per recent Forbes 2022 list. At the age of 34, Rihanna has become the youngest self-made billionaire in America, with a staggering net worth of USD 1.4 billion.
Who is the richest woman entrepreneur in the world? ›- Zhong Huijuan. Wealth: $10 billion. ...
- Chen Lihua. Wealth: $9.2 billion. ...
- Diane Hendricks. Wealth: $9 billion. ...
- Denise Coates. Wealth: $8.2 billion. ...
- Cheng Xue. Wealth: $7.9 billion. ...
- Zhou Qunfei. Wealth: $7.8 billion. ...
- Falguni Nayar. Wealth: $7.6 billion. ...
- Zhao Yan. Wealth: $7.6 billion. Country: China.
...
Richest self-made women in the United States in 2022, based on net worth (in billion U.S. dollars)
| Characteristic | Wealth in billion U.S. dollars |
|---|---|
| Lynda Resnick | 4 |
| Meg Whitman | 3.1 |
| Eren Ozmen | 2.6 |
| Oprah Winfrey | 2.6 |
Her $1.4 billion comes primarily from the success of her cosmetics line, Fenty Beauty, according to Forbes.
Who is the richest female ever? ›The granddaughter of the L'Oréal founder, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers was the wealthiest woman in the world as of April 2022. Her and her family's net worth was estimated at 74.8 billion U.S. dollars. Alice Walton, the daughter of the Walmart founder, was ranked second with 65.3 billion U.S. dollars in net worth.
Who is the richest woman to ever exist? ›With her net worth estimated at $78.4 billion, Francoise Bettencourt is the wealthiest woman on earth.
Who is the richest single woman? ›Françoise Bettencourt Meyers is currently the richest woman in the world with a net worth of $74.1 billion, per Forbes. She originally inherited her wealth from her grandfather's business ventures, specifically from L'Oréal cosmetics.
Who was the first black woman to become a billionaire? ›Madam C. J. Walker (1867-1919) was “the first Black woman millionaire in America” and made her fortune thanks to her homemade line of hair care products for Black women.
Who is the most successful business woman in the world in 2022? ›
#1 Julie Sweet. The first name that is mentioned in the World top 10 most powerful women is of an American business executive, Julie Sweet. She is the CEO of Accenture, which is a multinational professional services company.
Who became the 10th richest self-made woman 2022? ›After a bumper listing of her beauty and wellness e-commerce platform Nykaa, Falguni Nayar surpassed 'biotech queen' and Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (Rs 24,800 crore net worth) to become the richest self-made Indian woman in the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2022.
How many billionaires are female? ›Of the 3,311 billionaires in the world in 2021, only 12.9 percent were women, meaning that there were 430 billionaires worldwide.
Is Elon Musk self-made? ›Elon Musk: Biography of a Self-Made Visionary, Entrepreneur and Billionaire.
Who is the youngest self-made billionaire now? ›Alexandr Wang, 25, is the youngest self-made billionaire.
Is Beyonce a billionaire? ›Is Beyonce a Billionaire? Although Beyonce currently has a net worth of at least $500 million on her own, Jay Z and Beyonce have a total net worth of around $1.5 billion.
Who is richer Kylie Jenner or Rihanna? ›Although Riri is ranked as this year's youngest self-made billionaire, she is not the youngest person to receive the honor. Kylie Jenner, worth $600 million, takes the title at 24 years old.
Is Oprah a self-made billionaire? ›Key Takeaways. Oprah Winfrey is a renaissance woman who is a self-made billionaire. The Oprah Winfrey Show ended in 2011 and her career continued to skyrocket. She is an experienced talk show host, multimedia executive, actress, producer, and writer.
Who is the youngest billionaire in USA? ›Alexandr Wang is the youngest self-made billionaire as of November 2022, according to Forbes. At the age of 25, Wang is estimated to have a net worth of $1 billion. His San Francisco-based artificial intelligence company, Scale AI was valued at $7.3 billion earlier this year.
Who is America's richest female? ›| Top 10 overall | Name | Source of wealth |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Alice Walton | Walmart |
| #2 | MacKenzie Scott | Amazon |
| #3 | Julia Koch & family | Koch Industries |
| #4 | Jacqueline Mars | Candy, pet food |
How many billionaires are self made? ›
...
Number of billionaires around the world in 2021, by wealth source.
| Source of wealth | Number of billionaires |
|---|---|
| Self-made | 2,013 |
| Inherited / self-made | 957 |
| Inherited | 338 |
But since her mother's death, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers – the granddaughter of French beauty giant L'Oreal's founder – has topped the list of the planet's wealthiest women. Bettencourt Meyers, 68, has served on the board of L'Oreal since 1997 and she and her family own 33 per cent of the company.
Who are self made millionaires? ›Each one of us starts out with a unique set of advantages and disadvantages, but self-made millionaires are people who reach high levels of wealth without the help of a large inheritance or trust fund.
Who is the richest woman alive 2022? ›...
Top 10 Richest Women in the World for 2022
- Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers (France): $53.2 billion.
- Alice Walton (United States): $46.4 billion. ...
Sarah Rector, also known as Sarah Rector Campbell and Sarah Campbell Crawford, (March 3, 1902 – July 22, 1967) was a Black citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, best known for being the "Richest Colored Girl in the World".
Who was the first billionaire person? ›John D. Rockefeller became the world's first billionaire by measurable dollars. The Standard Oil Company founder became a billionaire in 1916 and was worth about 2% of the national economy.
Who was America first billionaire? ›The American business magazine Forbes produces a global list of known U.S. dollar billionaires every year and updates an Internet version of this list in real time. The American oil magnate John D. Rockefeller became the world's first confirmed U.S. dollar billionaire in 1916.
What is the biggest company owned by a woman? ›| Rank | Entrepreneur | Company |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tierra Kavanaugh Wayne | TKT & Associates, Inc. |
| 2 | Mary Hensley & Julie Hashagen | Enspire Energy |
| 3 | Asma Ishaq | Modere |
| 4 | Amrita Grewal | TalEx |
A strong woman stands up for herself.
“She is not afraid to share her ideas and thoughts, regardless of what others think.” “She speaks her heart and her mind.” “She respects herself enough to stand up for herself, the causes she believes in, and the welfare of others.”
Rihanna becomes America's youngest female self-made billionaire, says Forbes 2022 list. Rihanna becomes the youngest self-made billionaire in America, according to Forbes 2022. Her net worth stands at 1.4 billion as of today.
Who is America's richest woman 2022? ›
- Julia Koch & Family. Net Worth: $56 billion ...
- Alice Walton. Net Worth: $55.7 billion ...
- Mackenzie Scott. Net Worth: $37.7 billion ...
- Jacqueline Mars. Net Worth: $37 billion ...
- Miriam Adelson. Net Worth: $26.4 billion ...
- Abigail Johnson. Net Worth: $20.5 billion ...
- Laurene Powell Jobs. Net Worth: $12.6 billion ...
- Diane Hendricks.
As a kid, Alexandr Wang was a math whiz who liked participating in national math and coding competitions.
How many billionaire females are there? ›Of the 3,311 billionaires in the world in 2021, only 12.9 percent were women, meaning that there were 430 billionaires worldwide.
Who is the youngest billionaire in the world? ›Korean gaming pioneer Kim Jung-ju's teenage daughter Kim Jung-youn is world's youngest billionaire. Kim Jung-youn, daughter of Nexon-founder Kim Jung-ju, becomes the world's youngest billionaire thanks to her inheritance from her late fathe...
How did the richest woman get her money? ›The majority of these ultra-rich women—226— inherited their wealth, including the world's three richest women: L'Oréal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, Walmart heiress Alice Walton and Julia Koch, who inherited a stake in Koch Industries when her husband, David Koch, died in 2019.
Who is the first billionaire athlete? ›Michael Jordan was the first athlete-billionaire — here's how he makes and spends his millions. Michael Jordan is considered the greatest NBA player of all time. He's also the richest former professional athlete in the world, with a net worth of $1.7 billion.