Many women are developing new corporations and amassing their fortunes now than ever. This year’s list includes 234 women and a familiar figure yields as the wealthiest woman on earth. With volatile markets and more turbulent times, only about half of the 234 women on the new Forbes World Billionaire list are worth less than a year ago.
The wealthiest women on the list are worth $927.4 billion as a cluster. In light of rapid economic instability, they are $29.4 billion richer than the previous year. An additional 7 women share their wealth with their husbands, children, or siblings this year, out of nine women who shared their wealth last year.
#1 ALICE WALTON
- NET WORTH: $54.4 BILLION
- COUNTRY: UNITED STATES
- SOURCE OF WEALTH: WALMART
The only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton regains her position as the wealthiest woman in the world this year, after losing that place to L’Oréal heir Francoise Bettencourt Meyers in 2019. Given the current economic crisis, Walton ‘s fortunes have increased by 23% since last year. Walton, who has no part at Walmart, is assisting to lead a Walton Family Foundation program which will issue $300 million in bonds to support charter schools spend in and redevelop facilities.
#2 FRANCOISE BETTENCOURT MEYERS & FAMILY
- NET WORTH: $48.9 BILLION
- COUNTRY: FRANCE
- SOURCE OF WEALTH: L’OREAL
The granddaughter of the founder of L’Oréal, Eugène Schueller, is now the reigning French heiress of L’Oréal in 2017 after her mom, Liliane Bettencourt, who died at the age of 94 as the wealthiest woman on the planet. Bettencourt Meyers’ fortunes have declined by $400 million in last year’s list in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, with the share of the cosmetics giant falling by 12% in the first two weeks of March.
#3 JULIA KOCH & FAMILY
- NET WORTH: $38.2 BILLION
- COUNTRY: UNITED STATES
- SOURCE OF WEALTH: KOCH INDUSTRIES
New to the list, Koch joined the billionaire ranks after she and her three children inherited a 42% stake in Koch Industries from her husband, David, who died in August 2019 at age 79. Koch moved to New York City in the 1980s and worked as a fashion designer assistant to Adolfo.
#4 MACKENZIE BEZOS
- NET WORTH: $36 BILLION
- COUNTRY: UNITED STATES
- SOURCE OF WEALTH: AMAZON.COM
Bezos made her debut on the list following her split from Amazon creator Jeff Bezos in July 2019; the award-winning novelist got a quarter of her former husband’s holdings in the e-commerce giant. In May 2019, MacKenzie signed the Sharing Promise, pledging to give away at least half of her wealth.
#5 JACQUELINE MARS
- NET WORTH: $24.7 BILLION
- COUNTRY: UNITED STATES
- SOURCE OF WEALTH: CANDY, PET FOOD
Mars and her brother, John, each inherited one-third of the $35 billion (sales) candy business known for M&Ms and Milky Way bars. Her late brother, Forrest Jr. Four daughters own the rest of Mars, which also has large pet food and veterinary company. Jacqueline Mars worked with the organization for almost 20 years and sat on the board until 2016.
#6 YANG HUIYAN & FAMILY
- NET WORTH: $20.3 BILLION
- COUNTRY: CHINA
- SOURCE OF WEALTH: REAL ESTATE
The 38-year-old owns 57% of the property and sits on the Hong Kong-listed property developer Country Garden, that her father created and chairs. In regard to the coronavirus pandemic, the company developed robotic, automated food service stations in Wuhan (where the virus emerged) to feed Chinese medical staff.
#7 SUSANNE KLATTEN
- NET WORTH: $16.8 BILLION
- COUNTRY: GERMANY
- SOURCE OF WEALTH: BMW, PHARMACEUTICALS
An heir to BMW carmaker, Klatten has witnessed her net worth drop 20 percent over the last year. As car sales declined in the wake of the epidemic, BMW’s stock dropped by 24 percent in the first half of March. Klatten is also the sole owner and deputy chairman of Altana, a pharmaceutical and specialty chemical firm.
#8 LAURENE POWELL JOBS & FAMILY
- NET WORTH: $16.4 BILLION
- COUNTRY: UNITED STATES
- SOURCE OF WEALTH: APPLE, DISNEY
The wife of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs (d. 2011), Powell Jobs is the head of Emerson Collective, a hybrid charitable foundation and investment limited liability firm that she created in 2016. Speaking of her wealth, Powell Jobs told the New York Times in February, “I’m not interested in legacy wealth properties, and my children know that. Steve wasn’t involved in that. If I live long enough, it will end with me.”
Her income was down $2.2 billion from last year, partially due to a fall in Disney’s share price, but also because Forbes had a greater look into her overall assets.
#9 ZHONG HUIJUAN
- NET WORTH: $14.6 BILLION
- COUNTRY: CHINA
- SOURCE OF WEALTH: PHARMACEUTICALS
Zhong chairs Chinese drug manufacturer Hansoh Pharmaceutical, which manufactures oncology, psychoactive, anti-diabetic medicines, and other meds. Stocks grew by 10% from early January to mid-March, when coronavirus was the most widespread in her home country. Zhong is married to Sun Piaoyang, the billionaire chief of Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine.
#10 GINA RINEHART
- NET WORTH: $13.1 BILLION
- COUNTRY: AUSTRALIA
- SOURCE OF WEALTH: MINING
Rinehart, Australia’s wealthiest person, built a fortune on iron ore. The daughter of Lang Hancock, a high-profile explorer of iron ore, has been chaired by Hancock Prospecting Group since 1992. Rinehart’s fortunes have decreased by $2 billion over the last year, with the coronavirus pandemic dragging down prices in the iron ore sector.
Reference: Forbes
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