For the first time in three years, a self-made woman earns a spot among the top 10.
There are 337 women billionaires around the globe, according to Forbes’ latest ranking of the planet’s richest people, up from 327 in 2022. And they now command a slightly larger sliver of the billionaire population than a year ago (13%, compared to 12% in 2022).
The richest woman on the planet for the third year straight is L’Oréal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, who is worth $80.5 billion, a gain of nearly $5 billion from 2022. Meanwhile, MacKenzie Scott, whose fortune dropped $19.2 billion in the past year, falls five spots to No. 9, as shares of Amazon–which she got in her 2019 divorce from Jeff Bezos–tumbled. Scott’s enormous charitable giving–totaling more than $14 billion–has pushed her further down the list as well.
Abigail Johnson (estimated net worth: $21.6 billion), who heads mutual fund giant Fidelity, slips out of the top 10 this year, despite slightly adding to her fortune and moving three spots up the worldwide ranks. Taking her spot is Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, who is both the 6th richest woman in the world, with a net worth of $31.2 billion, and the highest ranked self-made female ever, at No. 43 on the global ranks. She splits ownership of Switzerland-based MSC, the world’s largest shipping line, with her husband Gianluigi. The two entered the shipping industry together in 1970, when they purchased a ship with a $200,000 loan. It’s still a family-run business: Gianluigi is executive chairman, their son Diego is president and Rafaela is responsible for decorating ships for the firm’s MSC Cruises division. Forbes previously listed the couple together; this year we split them into separate listings.
Aponte-Diamont is one of just 96 self-made women on the ranking. Nearly three-quarters of all women billionaires inherited their fortunes. Others among the 28% who are considered self-made include Rihanna ($1.4 billion) and Kim Kardashian West ($1.2 billion).
The wealthiest woman newcomer is Rohiqa Cyrus Mistry ($7 billion), the widow of Cyrus Mistry, the former chairman of Indian conglomerate Tata Sons, who died in a car crash in September. Other notable newcomers include Annette Lerner ($6.5 billion), the widow of real estate developer and Washington Nationals baseball team owner Ted Lerner (d. February 2023) and Amy Adams Strunk ($1.7 billion), owner of the Tennessee Titans football team.
Here are the top 10 richest women in the world:
(NET WORTHS ARE AS OF MARCH 10, 2023)
#1. Françoise Bettencourt Meyers & family
Net Worth: $80.5 Billion | Age: 69 | Source of wealth: L’Oréal | Citizenship: France
The L’Oréal heir keeps the title of the world’s richest woman, for the third year in a row, thanks to a 12% rise in the cosmetics giant’s stock since last year. Besides pledging $230 million together with L’Oréal for Notre Dame Cathedral’s reconstruction, she recently hired a managing director for her investment firm, Téthys Invest, where she backs projects like French private hospital operator Elsan.
#2. Julia Koch & family
Net Worth: $59 Billion | Age: 60 | Source of wealth: Koch Industries | Citizenship: U.S.
The widow of David Koch (d. 2019) owns 42% of conglomerate Koch Industries alongside her three adult children. Koch oversees the David H. Koch Foundation, through which she and her late husband have donated approximately $1.8 billion to causes like poverty, addiction-related issues, criminal justice and education. In January, she was appointed as a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
#3. Alice Walton
Net Worth: $56.7 Billion | Age: 73 | Source of wealth: Walmart | Citizenship: U.S.
She inherited a stake in Walmart from her father, cofounder Sam Walton (d. 1992). She’s well known in the family’s home state of Arkansas for opening the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, in their hometown of Bentonville, featuring works from the likes of Warhol, Rockwell and Rothko.
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#4. Jacqueline Mars
Net Worth: $38.3 Billion | Age: 83 | Source of wealth: Candy, pet food | Citizenship: U.S.
Mars and her brother, John Mars, each own an estimated one-third of candy and pet food multinational giant Mars Inc., which produces candy staples like M&M’s, Hubba Bubba and Snickers. The company was founded by her grandfather, Frank C. Mars, in 1911.
#5. Miriam Adelson & family
Net Worth: $35 Billion | Age: 77 | Source of wealth: Casinos | Citizenship: U.S.
Adelson is the majority shareholder of Las Vegas Sands, the world’s largest casino operator. She inherited the stake after her husband, longtime Republican Party kingmaker Sheldon Adelson, died in 2021. A medical doctor, she has given nearly $1 billion over her lifetime to fund medical research and drug discovery, according to Forbes estimates.
#6. Rafaela Aponte-Diamant
Net Worth: $31.2 Billion | Age: 78 | Source of wealth: Shipping | Citizenship: Italy
Aponte-Diamant joins the top 10 richest women in the world this year, as Forbes revamped its valuation of MSC, one of the world’s largest shipping companies, which she cofounded with her husband Guianluigi in 1970 with one ship. Rafaela and Gianluigi were previously listed together; in 2023, Forbes listed them as individual billionaires as part of a broad overhaul of how we categorize shared wealth.
#7. Susanne Klatten
Net Worth: $27.4 Billion | Age: 60 | Source of wealth: BMW, pharmaceuticals | Citizenship: Germany
Susanne Klatten owns 19% of German automaker BMW. Her mother was the third wife of legendary industrialist Herbert Quandt, who guided BMW to preeminence in the luxury market. Klatten, an economist with an M.B.A., also owns Altana, a chemicals company founded by her grandfather.
#8. Gina Rinehart
Net Worth: $27 Billion | Age: 69 | Source of wealth: Mining | Citizenship: Australia
The Australian magnate chairs mining and agriculture company Hancock Prospecting Group. She inherited the business from her father Lang Hancock (d. 1992). Her fortune has dropped by 11% since March in 2022, largely due to falling iron ore prices, but she remains the wealthiest person in Australia.
#9. MacKenzie Scott
Net Worth: $24.4 Billion | Age: 52 | Source of wealth: Amazon | Citizenship: U.S.
She inherited 4% of Amazon following her 2019 divorce from Jeff Bezos–and has set about giving it away at a breakneck pace. So far she has donated more than $14 billion to some 1,600 charities through her Yield Giving organization.
#10. Iris Fontbona & family
Net Worth: $23.1 Billion | Age: 80 | Source of wealth: Mining | Citizenship: Chile
The wealthiest woman in Latin America, Fontbona is the widow of Chilean tycoon Andrónico Luksic (d. 2005), who built an empire in mining and beverages. Together with her two sons, she owns and chairs Antofogasta plc, a Chile-based mining company specializing in copper production, and holds a significant stake in Quiñenco, a publicly traded holding company that does business in manufacturing, banking and beverages.
This article was first published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
