The 10 Richest Women in the World, According to Forbes

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Across the world, there’s still a pay gap between what men earn and what women do, which is about 16% worldwide. However, there are many very wealthy women in the world, some of whom have reached billionaire status.

This list was made using the top figures on Forbes, for which all the data was available. The data was filtered by ‘WOMAN’ and ranked from highest to lowest based on net worth.

These are the 10 richest women in the world.

Francoise Bettencourt

Headquarters of L'Oreal Germany in Düsseldorf - L'Oreal is a French personal care company
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This French billionaire is worth $80.5 billion. She got there by being the granddaughter of the L’Oreal cosmetics company. She inherited her money in 2017 when her mother died. She’s the world’s richest woman.

Julia Koch

Koch Industries
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With $59 billion, this American billionaire is a part of Koch Industries, a massive company that is involved in many different industries. She’s on the board of the company as well as the president of a charitable foundation.

Alice Walton

Indianapolis - Circa May 2018: Walmart Retail Location.
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Alice Walton isn’t necessarily a household name, but the company her money came from certainly is. She’s an heir to the Walmart fortune and is now worth $56.7 billion.

Jacqueline Mars

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As an heiress to the massive Mars candy company, Jacqueline Mars’ situation is pretty sweet. This American billionaire is now worth a delicious 38.3 billion.

Miriam Adelson

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Miriam Adelson is worth $35 billion and is the widow of the Las Vegas Sands former chairman and CEO. She owns an enormous gambling empire that has casinos around the world.

Rafaela Aponte-Diamant

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This Swiss billionaire is a part of a massive shipping company called the Mediterranean Shipping Company. She’s a major shareholder of the company and is worth $31.2 billion.

Susanne Klatten

BMW Museum Building in Munich, Germany
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Susanne Klatten is a heiress and a major shareholder in BMW. She’s worth $27.4 billion and is Germany’s richest woman. She’s ranked as the 50th richest person on Earth.

Gina Rinehart

Gina Rinehart
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This Australian billionaire is an heiress as well as a mining magnate. She serves as the executive chairman of Hancock Prospecting. Her father was its founder, and she’s now worth $27 billion.

MacKenzie Scott

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An American billionaire, MacKenzie Scott was the longtime wife of billionaire Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com. After their divorce, she ended up with an enormous amount, currently worth $24.4 billion.

Iris Fontbona

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As a Chilean billionaire worth $23.1 billion, Iris Fontbona is the richest woman in all of Latin America. She is a widow who inherited a mining company called Antofagasta PLC.

Top Industries for Female Billionaires

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Some industries pay out better than others, and some industries have led to more female net worth among the billionaire set.

Fashion and Retail

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This is the industry that has added the most wealth to female billionaires. Many mega-brands sell items around the world, and this can lead to enormous wealth for those at the top.

Gambling and Casinos

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This industry has introduced more than $20 billion to female billionaires. It’s an enormous industry that is known for its potential for high profitability.

Logistics

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It may not be a fun industry, but it’s needed by virtually everyone. We all depend on logistics, and the industry has added more than $20 billion to the world’s female billionaires’ net worth.

Metals and Mining

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Just as we’re dependent on logistics, we’re also dependent on this industry. Mining is always important to modern life. This industry added $19 billion to female billionaires.

Finance and Investments

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This is an industry that’s known for making a lot of wealth, and that extended to many female billionaires. Finance and investments add $18.3 billion to female billionaires.

The 13 Richest People in the World, According to Forbes

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Who are the richest people in the world?

Forbes keeps track of who is the world’s current billionaires, tracking the changes in their fortunes at the end of every trading day. Here are the top 13 richest people in the world as of the time of this article’s writing.

The 13 Richest People in the World, According to Forbes 

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Author: Lizz Shepherd

Bio:

Lizz Shepherd is a freelance writer living in Alabama.

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