Top 10 Women Billionaires in the World

Who are the world's top ten self-made female billionaires? According to Forbs.com, the majority of them are from China (38%), the United States (30%), Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom. Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Nigeria, Russia, Switzerland, and Vietnam account for the remaining self-made female billionaires. However, we only present the top ten Self-Made Women Billionaires here.

Zhou Qunfei of Hong Kong is the world's richest self-made woman. Lens Technology, a publicly traded company, manufactures glass covers for mobile phones and tablets for customers such as Apple and Samsung. She is one of Asia's top self-made female billionaires.

Top 10 Women Billionaires in the World

• Zhang Xin & family

Net Worth 2017 ($billion): 3.2

Citizenship: China

Source of Wealth: real estate

1. Zhang Xin and her husband Pan Shiyi lead real estate developer Soho China.
2. Soho China is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and develops office towers in Shanghai and Beijing.
3. In June 2021, U.S. firm Blackstone said it would buy the majority of Soho China for as much as $3.05 billion.
4. Prior to founding Soho China, Zhang worked on Wall Street for Goldman Sachs and Travelers Group.
5. Zhang studied at University of Sussex for her bachelor's degree before completing her master's at Cambridge University.

• Denise Coates

Net Worth 2017 ($billion): 3.6

Citizenship: United Kingdom

Source of Wealth: online gambling

1. Coates is co-CEO of Bet365, one of the world's largest online gambling companies, along with her billionaire brother, John.
2. Coates first trained as an accountant before taking over a number of her family's betting shops and then selling them to bookmaker Coral.
3. Noting the success of online gambling businesses, Coates bought the domain Bet365.com in 2000 and launched the website in 2001.
4. She owns around half of privately held Bet365, which facilitates more than $65 billion in bets a year.

• Rafaela Aponte

Net Worth 2017 ($billion): 3.75

Citizenship: Switzerland

Source of Wealth: shipping

1. A captain by training, Gianluigi Aponte entered the shipping industry in 1970 with his wife Rafaela.
2. Their company MSC has become the second-largest shipping line in the world by vessel capacity, just behind global leader AP Møller Maersk.
3. In 2014, Gianluigi retired as CEO and became chairman. His son Diego took over until MSC tapped former Maersk COO Soren Toft as CEO in November 2019.
4. MSC also operates in holiday cruises (MSC Cruises), inland logistics (Medlog) and port operations (Terminal Investment Limited).

• Diane Hendricks

Net Worth 2017 ($billion): 3.9

Citizenship: United States

Source of Wealth: roofing

• Lam Wai Ying

Net Worth 2017 ($billion): 4.1

Citizenship: Hong Kong

Source of Wealth: smartphone screens

1. Lam and her husband Yeung Kin-man own Hong Kong's Biel Crystal, which makes screens for smartphones.
2. Lam, Biel's chairman, owns 49% of the business; Yeung holds 51%.
3. Biel is the largest supplier of glass screens for cell phones, tablets, and watches to Apple and employs 83,000 people around the world.
4. While weakening iPhone demand may affect shipments to Apple, they also supply Samsung and Sony and have stated they expect stable revenue.
5. The company has postponed its plan to go public in Hong Kong to 2023.

• Wu Yajun & family

Net Worth 2017 ($billion): 4.5

Citizenship: China

Source of Wealth: real estate

• Chan Laiwa & family

Net Worth 2017 ($billion): 5.8

Citizenship: China

Source of Wealth: real estate

• Marian Ilitch & family

Net Worth 2017 ($billion): $6

Citizenship: United States

Source of Wealth: pizza, sports team

1. Marian Ilitch and her husband, Mike, who died in 2017, cofounded Little Caesars Pizza in 1959.
2. Mrs. I, as she's known, now owns the pizza chain, which hauls in more than $4.5 billion in annual systemwide sales.
3. She also owns the Detroit Red Wings and MotorCity Casino Hotel; the Detroit Tigers are owned by a family trust.
4. Ilitch is helping build a $1.4 billion sports and entertainment district in Detroit that includes a new headquarters with pizza-shaped windows.

• Pollyanna Chu

Net Worth 2017 ($billion): 6.8

Citizenship: Hong Kong

Source of Wealth: financial services

• Zhou Qunfei

Net Worth 2017 ($billion): $7.40

Citizenship: Hong Kong

Source of Wealth: smartphone screens.