Top 5 Richest Women in the World

While there aren’t any women on the list of the top 10 richest people in the world, there’s no denying some women have been making huge fortunes all over the world. The number of women billionaires is on the rise. This year, 328 women made the Forbes billionaires list, which is a steady increase from 241 last year. When grouped, the women on the list have a net worth of about $1.53 trillion, a nearly 60% increase over the past year. This year they collectively added about $570.7 billion to their net wealth, mainly due to rebounding stock markets across the globe.

Given below is a list of the top 5 richest women in the world according to Forbes’ this year:

1. Françoise Bettencourt Meyers & family

Bettencourt Meyers inherited her fortune and place on board since 1997 from her mother, Liliane Bettencourt, whose father, Eugene Schueller, founded cosmetics giant L’Oréal. The company’s profit fell about 6 percent in 2020 during the pandemic peak, partly due to the less need for makeup during the quarantine period. Yet, the company was able to recover steadily and gain a profit of 38% in 2021 due to the rising demand for skincare products when the peak of the pandemic was over

2. Alice Walton

Sam Walton’s daughter Alicia Walton previously held the spot as the world’s richest woman but lost it this year to Françoise Bettencourt Meyers. Her company still managed to gain $7.4 billion in the past year, thanks to Walmart stock rising more than 5% since mid-March 2020. Recently, the retailing giant introduced free delivery as part of an Amazon Prime-like membership program, which helped boost their online sales by about 69% in the year from January.

3. MacKenzie Scott

MacKenzie Scott, who was previously married to Amazon founder, ended their marriage in 2019. She ranked third in the list and became the most significant philanthropist of the pandemic and gave away $5.8 billion as grants to around 500 nonprofit organizations across the U.S. that supported causes including racial equity, LGBTQ+ rights, and public health. Julia Koch and Family. As part of the divorce settlement, Jeff transferred 25% of his Amazon stake to MacKenzie, which was 4% of the company. 

4. Julia Koch

Julia Koch, the widow of David Koch and her children, has a 42% stake in the family business, Koch Industries. The Koch Industries was declared as America’s largest private company per revenue last year. She presently sits on the board of directors of the $115 billion conglomerate in which David’s older brother Charles holds the position of chairman and owns a 42% stake. She sits on the board of directors of the $115 billion (2019 sales) conglomerate; David’s older brother Charles is chairman and also owns a 42% stake.

5. Miriam Adelson

Adelson now controls the 56% stake in casino operator Las Vegas Sands that was formerly owned by her husband, Sheldon Adelson, who died at age 87 in January. The company lost $985 million in the second quarter of 2020 as its two Vegas casinos and resorts were shuttered due to statewide lockdowns. The casinos reopened in June 2020, but the business ended the year with $1.69 billion in net loss, compared to $2.7 billion in profits in the previous year. Las Vegas Sands announced in March that it is selling its Vegas properties for $6.25 billion to focus instead on Asia; its business is much bigger in Macao.