Forbes has come up with her annual list of #WorldsRichestPeople for year 2021 and we also get the scoop on the richest women in the world.
Although no African makes the cut, this year’s list witnessed an upping in terms of percentage. Forbes’ 2021 list of the World’s Billionaires features 328 women, up more than 36% from the previous year, including a new world’s youngest self-made woman billionaire, the site reports.
L’Oreal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers stands proudly as the world’s richest woman with the biggest dollar gain among women whose fortune is tied to public stocks. The share price of L’Oreal, in which she and her family own a 33% stake, rose nearly 40% since last March, helping add $24.7 billion to Bettencourt’s net worth.
MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, also amassed even greater fortune this year, despite her extensive philanthropic efforts during the pandemic. Scott, who has committed to giving her wealth away “until the safe is empty,” donated nearly $6 billion to charities across America in 2020. Yet, thanks to Amazon stock which received major skyrocketing, she got in the divorce, she’s worth more now ($53 billion on this year’s list) than when she began ($36 billion on Forbes 2020 ranking).
Whitney Wolfe Herd, 31, co-founder of dating app Bumble, who became the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire in February after taking her matchmaking company public is one of 63 women who joined Forbes’ annual World’s Billionaires list for the very first time in 2021 many thanks to her 12 per cent stake in the company which makes her worth $1.3 bn. From the U.S. to China, 328 women made the Forbes billionaires list, up from 241 last year.
108 self-made women land on the list up from 67 women last year, Miuccia Prada, for example, has grown the family’s luxury fashion company Prada into a $2.9 billion (2020 sales) brand with her co-CEO husband, Patrizio Bertelli.
Top Richest Women In the World! Dive in:
#1 | Françoise Bettencourt Meyers & family
NET WORTH: $73.6 BILLION
AGE: 67
CITIZENSHIP: FRANCE
SOURCE OF WEALTH: L’OREAL
Although the $33.6 billion (2020 sales) company’s profits fell 6% in 2020 due to quarantine measures, thanks to stock rise 38% from recovering cosmetics demand, especially for skincare products amid the pandemic, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers & family clinch the top spot.
#2 | Alice Walton
NET WORTH: $61.8 BILLION
AGE: 71
CITIZENSHIP: UNITED STATES
SOURCE OF WEALTH: WALMART
No longer the World’s Richest Woman, Walton dusted it off having gained $7.4 billion in the past year, thanks to Walmart stock rising more than 5% since mid March 2020. The retailing giant introduced free delivery as part of an Amazon Prime-like membership program, helping boost online sales 69% in the year through January.
#3 | MacKenzie Scott
NET WORTH: $53 BILLION
AGE: 50
CITIZENSHIP: UNITED STATES
SOURCE OF WEALTH: AMAZON
#4 | Julia Koch & family
NET WORTH: $46.4 BILLION
AGE: 58
CITIZENSHIP: UNITED STATES
SOURCE OF WEALTH: KOCH INDUSTRIES
#5 | Miriam Adelson
NET WORTH: $38.2 BILLION
AGE: 75
CITIZENSHIP: UNITED STATES
SOURCE OF WEALTH: CASINOS
#6 | Jacqueline Mars
NET WORTH: $31.3 BILLION
AGE: 81
CITIZENSHIP: UNITED STATES
SOURCE OF WEALTH: CANDY, PET FOOD
#7 | Yang Huiyan & family
NET WORTH: $29.6 BILLION
AGE: 39
CITIZENSHIP: CHINA
SOURCE OF WEALTH: REAL ESTATE
#8 | Susanne Klatten
NET WORTH: $27.7 BILLION
AGE: 58
CITIZENSHIP: GERMANY
SOURCE OF WEALTH: BMW, PHARMACEUTICALS
#9 | Gina Rinehart
NET WORTH: $23.6 BILLION
AGE: 67
CITIZENSHIP: AUSTRALIA
SOURCE OF WEALTH: MINING
#10 | Iris Fontbona & family
NET WORTH: $23.3 BILLION
AGE: 78
CITIZENSHIP: CHILE
SOURCE OF WEALTH: MINING
Source: Forbes.com
