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The Top 20 Richest Women in the World 2018
Who are the richest women in the world?
Most of the focus is normally on men, but what about the wealthiest women?
Can you even hazard a guess as to who you think’s going to appear on this list? You can probably think of the richest men, such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, but no women…
Am I right?
Let’s find out in this article, where we list the top 20 richest women in the world as of 2018. Many of these women are heiress’ to their parents fortunes, and have taken over their father’s companies. Others have built businesses themselves from the ground up.
Let’s take a look…
Top 20 Richest Women in the World
All stats featured within this article in regards to net worth have come from Forbes directly. These are the top 20 richest women in the world:
1. Alice Walton
Net Worth: $45.6 Billion
Alice Walton is the daughter of Sam Walton, the founder of one of the most successful retail chains in the world, Walmart. Alice is the heiress to the Walmart fortune. She also founded the Llama Company in 1988, but it has since closed down.
“One of the great responsibilities that I have is to manage my assets wisely, so that they create value.” – Alice Walton
2. Maria Franca Fissolo
Net Worth: $32.3 Billion
Maria Franca Fissolo is an Italian billionaire, the widow of Michele Ferrero, and the owner of Ferrero SpA, Europe’s second largest confectionery company.
3. Jacqueline Mars
Net Worth: $28.2 Billion
Jacqueline Mars is an American investor and heiress to the Mars Incorporated fortune. Her parents were the founders of the company, and the fortune was shared between herself and her two brothers, John & Forrest Jr.
“Even when early innovations start to succeed, it is not uncommon to see growing businesses sabotaged for threatening the status quo.” – Jacqueline Mars
4. Susanne Klatten
Net Worth: $24.4 Billion
When we looked at the stats on Forbes, Johanna Quandt was still listed as one of the richest women in the world. However, Johanna passed away in 2015, and her daughter Susanne inherited the fortune, along with her father’s inheritance.
Klatten owns stakes in BMW, SGL and Altana among other companies.
5. Yang Huiyan
Net Worth: $22.3 Billion
Yang Huiyan is the majority shareholder of Country Garden Holdings and the 24th wealthiest person in mainland China. She is currently the youngest female billionaire as well as the richest woman in Asia.
She is the daughter of Yang Guoqiang, who started his company Biguiyuan in 1997 and transferred 70% of Country Garden’s shares to her before its IPO in 2007.
6. Laurene Powell Jobs
Net Worth: $21.3 Billion
Laurene Powell Jobs is an American businesswoman, executive and the founder of Emerson Collective, which advocates for policies concerning education and immigration reform, social justice and environmental conservation.
“My relationship with money is that it’s a tool to be self-sufficient, but it’s not something that is a part of who I am.” – Laurene Powell Jobs
7. Abigail Johnson
Net Worth: $18.2 Billion
Abigail Johnson is an American businesswoman. Johnson is the CEO of US investment firm Fidelity Investments. She is also the chairwoman of Fidelity International. Fidelity was founded by her grandfather Edward C. Johnson II, and the Johnson company currently own a 49% stake in the company.
“Lots of people will give you advice… and depending upon how well they know you, the advice might be valid or not so valid.” – Abigail Johnson
8. Gina Rinehart
Net Worth: $17.2 Billion
Gina Rinehart is originally from Perth in Western Australia, and is the chairman of Hancock Prospecting. She inherited the majority stake in the company when her father passed away.
“There is no monopoly on becoming a millionaire. If you’re jealous of those with more money, don’t just sit there and complain – do something to make more money yourself.” – Gina Rinehart
9. Iris Fontbona
Net Worth: $16.6 Billion
Fontbona is fresh on the list of richest women for 2018, after propelling her net worth to an estimated $16.6 billion this year.
10. Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken
Net Worth: $15.9 Billion
Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken is a Dutch-English businesswoman. She owns a 25% controlling interest in, you’ve probably already guessed it, the brewing company Heineken International.
Heineken International is the 3rd largest brewing company in the world. Charlene is an executive director at Heineken, and when her father passed away in 2002, she inherited £3 billion, moving her up the list of the richest people in the world.
11. Blair Parry-Okeden
Net Worth: $12.2 Billion
Blair Parry-Okeden is an Australian billionaire heiress and one of the richest person in Australia with a net worth of $12.2 billion.
12. Massimiliana Landini Alleotti
Net Worth: $11.3 Billion
Massimiliana Landini Aleotti is an Italian billionaire heiress, and the owner of the pharmaceutical company Menarini. Aleotti’s net worth is estimated to be $11.3 billion in 2018, making her one of the richest women in the world.
13. Zhou Qunfei
Net Worth: $10.2 Billion
Zhou Qunfei is a Chinese entrepreneur, and founder of the major touchscreen maker Lens Technology. After the public listing of her company on the Shenzhen ChiNext market in March 2015, her net worth has reached $10.2 billion, making her the richest woman in China.
14. Pollyanna Chu
Net Worth: $9.5 Billion
Pollyanna Chu is a businesswoman from Hong Kong. She is an executive of Kingston Financial Group, Golden Resorts Group, and Sincere Watch.
Chu has an estimated net worth of $9.5 billion in 2018, making her one of the richest people in Hong Kong, and one of the richest women in the world.
15. Katharine Rayner
Net Worth: $8.1 Billion
16. Margaretta Taylor
Net Worth: $8.1 Billion
17. Kirsten Rausing
Net Worth: $8 Billion
18. Savitri Jindal
Net Worth: $7.9 Billion
19. Loretta Robinson
Net Worth: $7.9 Billion
20. Pauline MacMillan
Net Worth: $7.4 Billion
Summary
Here’s a quick recap on the top 20 richest women in the world:
- Alice Walton
- Maria Franca Fissolo
- Jaqcueline Badger Mars
- Susanne Klatten
- Yang Huiyan
- Lauren Powell Jobs
- Abigail Johnson
- Gina Rinehart
- Iris Fontbona
- Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken
- Blair Parry-Okeden
- Massimiliani Landini Aleotti
- Zhou Qunfei
- Pollyanna Chu
- Katharine Rayner
- Margaretta Taylor
- Kirsten Rausing
- Savitri Jindal
- Loretta Robinson
- Pauline MacMillan
