According to the most recent data from Statista, women own one-third of the world's private wealth. However, this data also highlights the persistent income inequality in society, as women comprised just 12.5 per cent of the 3,194 billionaires in the world in 2022.
While many of these women inherited their wealth from parents or deceased spouses, a significant number are entirely self-made, earning their fortunes through their brands and enterprises. Here, we spotlight some of the most prominent female billionaires from around the globe, showcasing their journeys and contributions to various industries.
1. UAE - Huda Kattan: $400 million (£313 million)
Huda Kattan, an Iraqi-American beauty influencer based in Dubai, is considered the richest woman in the United Arab Emirates, with a net worth of $400 million (£313 million). In 2010, Kattan launched her beauty blog, which she developed independently. Three years later, she founded Huda Beauty, a cosmetics business that quickly gained a massive following.
The business generates approximately $200 million (£156 million) in revenue annually. According to Kattan, Huda Beauty, which boasts 53 million Instagram followers, relies more on word-of-mouth and viral organic content than on sponsored advertising.
2. UK - Denise Coates: $9.5 billion (£7.5 billion)
Denise Coates is often referred to as the gambling queen of the UK. Coates began her career as an accountant before inheriting her father's bookmaking company in the 1990s. In 2000, she established the internet betting company Bet365, initially running the business out of a portakabin in Stoke-on-Trent.
After building it into one of the world's largest gaming businesses alongside her brother John, who serves as co-CEO, Coates sold the family's bricks-and-mortar chain to Coral in 2005 for $49 million (£40 million).
Coates has faced criticism for being one of the highest-paid executives in the world, earning a record $510 million (£421 million) in salary and dividends in the 2020–2021 tax year. Between March 2021 and April 2022, she brought in an additional $318 million (£263 million), with her most recent compensation totalling $281 million (£221 million).
Overall, Coates and her family have a net worth of £7.467 billion, or $9.5 billion, according to the most recent Sunday Times Rich List.
3. Australia - Gina Rinehart: $30.8 billion (£24.1 billion)
Gina Rinehart is not only the wealthiest woman in Australia but also the richest person in the country. Rinehart has overseen the growth of Hancock Prospecting, the iron ore exploration enterprise founded by her late father, Lang Hancock.
In the fiscal year that ended on 30 June 2023, the company generated a profit of $5 billion (£3.9 billion). Rinehart also has holdings in rare earth elements and natural gas, and she owns a significant cattle company in Australia that recently shifted its focus to producing high-quality Wagyu meat.
4. Japan - Yoshiko Mori: $2.2 billion (£1.7 billion)
Following her husband Minoru Mori's death in 2012, Yoshiko Mori became Japan's wealthiest woman. She inherited a substantial interest in his business, Mori Building, responsible for the opulent Roppongi Hills development in Tokyo.
The Shanghai World Financial Centre, the sixth-tallest tower in China, was also co-developed by Mori Building. Yoshiko Shinohara, the temp staffing tycoon, is Japan's only self-made female billionaire. Her net worth hit ten figures in 2017 and currently stands at over $965 million (£755 million).
5. Vietnam - Thi Phuong Thao Nguyen: $2.9 billion (£2.3 billion)
Thi Phuong Thao Nguyen, Vietnam's first self-made millionaire, earned her first million dollars at the age of 21 by importing items as diverse as rubber and fax machines. Later, she became a successful investor and co-founded VietJet Air, a low-cost airline, in 2007.
When the airline debuted in 2011, its advertisements featuring flight attendants in bikinis made headlines. Nguyen has established multiple charitable foundations that promote healthcare, education, and poverty alleviation. She has also donated $200 million (£157 million) to the University of Oxford's Linacre College.
6. Sweden - Antonia Ax:son Johnson: $9.8 billion (£7.7 billion)
Antonia Ax:son Johnson is the primary owner of Axel Johnson, the conglomerate founded by her great-grandfather in 1873. The organisation spans interests in land, grocery stores, and energy.
Johnson led the business empire from 1982 to 2015 and remains a board member today. Additionally, she founded the non-profit Axfoundation, which aims to create a more sustainable society.
7. South Korea - Hong Ra-hee: $4.1 billion (£3.2 billion)
Renowned art collector Hong Ra-hee derives her ten-figure wealth partially from Samsung, South Korea's largest conglomerate. Following the death of her husband, Lee Kun-hee, the group's former chairman, Hong received a portion of his wealth.
Many believe Lee Kun-hee was instrumental in making Samsung the multinational powerhouse it is today. Before marrying Lee, Hong was financially successful on her own, and her father, Hong Jin-ki, was a well-known media mogul and government figure.
8. Mexico - María Asunción Aramburuzabala: $6.3 billion (£4.9 billion)
María Asunción Aramburuzabala gained a significant profit when the beer giant Grupo Modelo was sold to Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2013 for $20 billion (£16.5 billion). As a remarkable entrepreneur, Aramburuzabala has since increased the wealth she inherited from her father in 1995.
Shortly after her father's passing, Aramburuzabala founded the investment company Tresalia Capital. Since then, she has built up a diverse portfolio of profitable investments, ranging from telecom and construction companies to shares in Kraft-Heinz and Tory Burch.
9. Russia - Tatyana Bakalchuk: $7.4 billion (£5.8 billion)
Tatyana Bakalchuk became Russia's second female oligarch, following building mogul Elena Baturina. A mother of seven and former English teacher, Bakalchuk is the CEO of the e-commerce company Wildberries, which she founded from her Moscow flat while on maternity leave in 2004.
Wildberries is often referred to as Russia's version of Amazon, being the country's most popular online retailer and handling seven million orders daily. In 2022, the e-commerce turnover was approximately 317 billion roubles, equivalent to around $3.4 billion (£2.7 billion).
10. Canada - Sherry Brydson: $19.9 billion (£15.6 billion)
Sherry Brydson is Canada's richest woman. She owns Longview Aviation Capital, the parent company of Viking Air and De Havilland Canada. Brydson is also the grandchild of the late newspaper tycoon Roy Thomson and the largest stakeholder in Woodbridge, known for owning the media giant Thomson Reuters.
11. China - Kwong Siu-hing: $11.7 billion (£9.2 billion)
China's turbulent real estate market has significantly disrupted the country's rich list. In recent years, Yang Huiyan, chair of the failing developer Country Garden, saw her wealth plummet from $29.6 billion (£23.5 billion) in 2021 to $3.1 billion (£2.4 billion).
Currently, the richest woman in China is Kwong Siu-hing, the widow of Sun Hung Kai Properties co-founder Kwok Tak-seng, based in Hong Kong. Despite its struggles, the real estate company in which she holds the largest stakeholder position is outperforming many top developers in mainland China.
12. Germany - Susanne Klatten: $24.3 billion (£19 billion)
Susanne Klatten is Germany's wealthiest woman. Klatten inherited a 19% share in BMW from her late parents, Herbert and Johanna Quandt. As a successful economist with an MBA, Klatten owns 100 per cent of the pharmaceutical and chemical company Altana and serves as deputy chair of the board.
She is also an experienced investor, holding significant shares in SGL, a producer of carbon, and Entrust, a manufacturer of credit cards.
13. Switzerland - Rafaela Aponte-Diamant: $36.3 billion (£28.4 billion)
Shipping mogul Rafaela Aponte-Diamant is the richest woman in Switzerland and has been named the richest self-made woman in the world. Aponte-Diamant owns 50 per cent of the world's largest liner firm, MSC Group, with the other half owned by her husband Gianluigi Aponte-Diamant.
Based in Geneva, Aponte-Diamant launched the company with her husband in 1970 by taking out a $200,000 loan to purchase their first ship—equivalent to roughly $1.6 million (£1.3 million) in modern terms. In 2022, MSC Group generated an astounding $38.4 billion (£31 billion) in profit on a revenue of $91.7 billion (£74.2 billion).
14. USA - Alice Walton: $78.8 billion (£61.7 billion)
The USA boasts more female billionaires than any other nation. Alice Walton, with a fortune of $78.8 billion (£61.7 billion), is the richest among them. Walton is the only daughter of Walmart's founder, Sam Walton. She inherited a 13% share in the retail giant, providing her with ample resources to pursue her artistic passions.
Walton has since used her wealth to establish the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. Since its opening in 2011, Walton has funded several significant acquisitions for the museum, including works by Andy Warhol, Georgia O'Keeffe, and John Singer Sargent.
15. France - Françoise Bettencourt Meyers: $100.8 billion (£78.8 billion)
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, granddaughter of L'Oréal founder Eugène Schueller, is not only the wealthiest woman in France but also arguably the richest female in the world. Despite their allegedly tense relationship, Meyers inherited over 30 per cent of the cosmetics company following her mother Liliane Bettencourt's death in 2017.
As head of the family's charitable foundation, which promotes social equality, arts, and life sciences, Meyers is a devoted philanthropist. She also contributed a substantial $226 million (£183 million) to the reconstruction of Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral, which was damaged by fire in 2019.
