The 50 Richest Self-Made Women On Earth

It’s never been a better time for women entrepreneurs – at least by the numbers. There are now an estimated 658 million female founders and company owners worldwide, compared to 772 million men, per the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Nearly two-thirds are early stage entrepreneurs, compared to less than half of their male counterparts.

“Women’s entrepreneurship is the number one policy solution to things like health deficits and education deficits,” says Amanda Elam, who authored GEM’s latest Women’s Entrepreneurship Report. “The types of businesses women tend to lead create places that are great to live in. And it turns out companies like to build their operations in places like that. So in international development, there's been this awakening.”

As a nod to the triumphs and challenges for this cohort, for the first time ever, Forbes has compiled a standalone global ranking of the world’s 50 richest self-made women. These ceiling breakers—who have made their fortunes in everything from collagen to coal—hail from 13 nations and four continents (there are currently none from Africa or South America). Altogether they are worth $276 billion, or $5.5 billion on average. That’s $10 billion less than what the top 50 were worth at their peak in 2021, but $158 billion higher than in 2017 – the first year Forbes tracked that many self-made women.

The richest self-made woman in the world is Swiss shipping magnate Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, with a net worth of $38.8 billion. She and her husband Gianluigi Aponte started and co-own the Mediterranean Shipping Company, now the world’s largest shipping line, with over 136,000 employees, 900 vessels and 675 offices. Rafaela started MSC with a $200,000 loan, which the couple used to finance their first ship and eventually expanded to a fleet of 17 in nine years. Read our story on her here. At 80, she’s still in charge of designing the interiors and decorations of ships and sits on the board of the MSC foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm.

At a distant number two is America’s Diane Hendricks, (estimated net worth: $22.3 billion) cofounder of ABC Supply, one of the biggest distributors of roofing, siding and more. She is one of 18 Americans in the top 50, including such high profile women as Oprah Winfrey and Sheryl Sandberg.

Admission to this elite, 50-member club is $2.1 billion, meaning high profile executives and entrepreneurs like SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell, Spanx’s Sara Blakely, Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift simply aren’t rich enough—for now.

China, including Hong Kong, also has 18 citizens on the list, the richest of whom is Zhong Huijuan. Based in China’s Jiangsu province and reportedly a former chemistry teacher, Zhong started Hansoh Pharmaceuticals in 1995 and got her big break four years later with Gainuo, a first-line drug for advanced lung cancer. Traded in Hong Kong, and boasting $1.7 billion in annual revenue, Hansoh specializes in treatments for oncology, anti-infections and autoimmune diseases. China has long been a leader in terms of women entrepreneurs. “In the Chinese tradition, women are accustomed to wielding significant power and influence,” Ming-Jer Chen, a professor at the University of Virginia and an expert on East-West businesses, wrote in a 2020 article, which also noted that the Chinese word for “wife” is pronounced the same as the word for equal, “qi.”

Nearly half the list – 24 women – hail from Asia-Pacific, followed by North America with 20 and Europe with six. Aussie Melanie Perkins, who cofounded design software firm Canva in 2013, is the youngest of the bunch, at age 38. Next youngest is Russia’s Tatyana Kim (49), a former English teacher who went on to found her nation’s largest online retailer, Wildberries.

These women operate in 14 industries but their most common route to wealth has been technology, with 14 deriving their fortunes from that sector. The richest among this group is Zhou Qunfei (estimated net worth: $10 billion), who chairs Hunan-based Lens Technology, a maker of touch screens whose customers include Apple, Samsung and Tesla. A former migrant factory worker, she founded the precursor to the company in 1993 and has grown the business to more than 136,000 employees and $9.5 billion in annual sales. The next most common industry, with just five, is retail, and includes two cofounders of China’s fast fashion juggernaut Shein.

While more women are moving into entrepreneurship than ever before, there is still a vast gap between men and women in terms of their level of success, at least as measured by their personal net worths. The world’s 50 richest self-made men are worth $3.8 trillion, 14 times as much as the 50 wealthiest females.

Altogether there are 1,920 men across the globe who have built billion-dollar fortunes, more than 18 times as many as women. The planet’s self-made billionaires are worth a collective $11.2 trillion. Men—led by the likes of Elon Musk, Larry Ellison and Mark Zuckerberg—hold $10.8 trillion of that wealth, or 96%, leaving the most successful women around the globe with just 4% of the pie.

Still there is plenty of reason for optimism, starting with the fact that self-made women now make up 3.5% of the entire billionaire set, a small percentage but about 50% higher than their share back in 2017.

The Top 50 World’s Richest Self-Made Women

Net worths are as of June 13, 2025

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NAME: Rafaela Aponte-Diamant

NET WORTH:$38.8B

CITIZENSHIP: Switzerland

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Shipping

AGE:80

Name:Diane Hendricks

NET WORTH:$22.3B

CITIZENSHIP: United States

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Building supplies

AGE:78

NAME: Zhong Huijuan

NET WORTH: $15.6B

CITIZENSHIP:China

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Pharmaceuticals

AGE:64

NAME: Zhou Qunfei

NET WORTH: $10B

CITIZENSHIP:Hong Kong

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Smartphone screens

AGE:55

NAME:Denise Coates

NET WORTH:$8.5

CITIZENSHIP: United Kingdom

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Online gambling

AGE:57

NAME:Judy Faulkner

NET WORTH:$7.8B

CITIZENSHIP:United States

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Healthcare software

AGE:81

NAME: Wang Laichun

NET WORTH:$7.2B

CITIZENSHIP:Hong Kong

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Electronics components

AGE:58

NAME: Marian Ilitch & family

NET WORTH:Hong Kong

CITIZENSHIP:United States

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Little Caesars Pizza

AGE:92

NAME: Ling Tang

NET WORTH:$6.6B

CITIZENSHIP:Canada

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Marketing software, mobile games

NAME: Lynda Resnick

NET WORTH:$6.3B

CITIZENSHIP:United States

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Agriculture

AGE:82

NAME:Wu Yajun

NET WORTH:$6.2B

CITIZENSHIP:China

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Real estate

AGE:61

NAME: Thai Lee

NET WORTH:$6.1B

CITIZENSHIP:United States

SOURCE OF WEALTH:IT provider

AGE:66

NAME: Melanie Perkins

NET WORTH:$5.8B

CITIZENSHIP:Australia

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Software

AGE:38

NAME: Elizabeth Uihlein

NET WORTH:$5.6B

CITIZENSHIP:United States

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Packaging materials

AGE:79

NAME: Zhou Chaonan

NET WORTH:$4.9B

CITIZENSHIP:China

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Manufacturing

AGE:64

NAME: Marina Budiman

NET WORTH: $4.8B

CITIZENSHIP:Indonesia

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Data centers

AGE:63

NAME: Dewi Kam

NET WORTH:$4.8B

CITIZENSHIP:Indonesia

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Coal

AGE:74

NAME: Tatyana Kim

NET WORTH:$4.6B

CITIZENSHIP:Russia

SOURCE OF WEALTH: E-commerce

AGE:49

NAME: Gail Miller & family

NET WORTH:$4.6B

CITIZENSHIP:United States

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Car dealerships

AGE:81

NAME: Fan Daidi

NET WORTH:United States

CITIZENSHIP:China

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Skincare

AGE:59

NAME: Fan Hongwei

NET WORTH:$4.5B

CITIZENSHIP:China

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Petrochemicals

AGE:58

NAME: Jayshree Ullal

NET WORTH:$4.5B

CITIZENSHIP:United States

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Computer networking

AGE:64

NAME: Eren Ozmen

NET WORTH:$4.4B

CITIZENSHIP:United States

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Aerospace

AGE:66

NAME: Johnelle Hunt

NET WORTH:$3.9B

CITIZENSHIP:United States

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Trucking

AGE:93

NAME: Chan Laiwa & family

NET WORTH:$3.8B

CITIZENSHIP:China

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Real estate

AGE:84

NAME: Meg Whitman

NET WORTH:$3.8B

CITIZENSHIP:United States

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Ebay

AGE:68

name: Maggie Gu

NET WORTH:$3.7B

CITIZENSHIP:China

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Shein

NAME: Molly Miao

NET WORTH:$3.7B

CITIZENSHIP: China

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Shein

NAME: Giuliana Benetton

NET WORTH: $3.6B

CITIZENSHIP: Italy

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Fashion retail, investments

AGE:87

NAME: Peggy Cherng

NET WORTH:$3.6B

CITIZENSHIP: United States

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Fast food

AGE:77

NAME:Falguni Nayar

NET WORTH: $3.4B

CITIZENSHIP:India

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Retailing

AGE:62

NAME: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

NET WORTH: $3.3B

CITIZENSHIP: India

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Biopharmaceuticals

AGE:72

NAME: Maritsa Lazari & family

NET WORTH:$3.2B

CITIZENSHIP: United Kingdom

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Real estate

AGE:80

NAME: Weili Dai

NET WORTH:$3.1B

CITIZENSHIP:United States

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Semiconductors

AGE:63

NAME: Jian Jun

NET WORTH:$3.1B

CITIZENSHIP:China

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Biomedical products

AGE:61

name: Lam Wai-ying

NET WORTH:$3.1B

CITIZENSHIP: Hong Kong

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Smartphone screens

NAME: Oprah Winfrey

NET WORTH:$3.1B

CITIZENSHIP:United States

SOURCE OF WEALTH: TV shows

AGE:71

NAME:Cheng Xue

NET WORTH:$3B

CITIZENSHIP:China

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Soy sauce

AGE:55

NAME: Zhao Yan

NET WORTH:$3B

CITIZENSHIP:China

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Biotech

AGE:58

NAME: Safra Catz

NET WORTH:$2.9B

CITIZENSHIP:United States

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Software

AGE:63

NAME: Pan Dong

NET WORTH: $2.6B

CITIZENSHIP:Canada

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Consumer goods

AGE:60

NAME: Anna Angelicoussis & family

NET WORTH:$2.5B

CITIZENSHIP:Greece

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Shipping

AGE:69

NAME: Barbara Banke & family

NET WORTH:$2.5B

CITIZENSHIP:United States

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Wine

AGE:71

NAME: Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao

NET WORTH:$2.5B

CITIZENSHIP:Vietnam

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Airlines

AGE:55

NAME: Solina Chau

NET WORTH:$2.4B

CITIZENSHIP:Hong Kong

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Investments

AGE:63

NAME: Sheryl Sandberg

NET WORTH:$2.4B

CITIZENSHIP:United States

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Facebook

AGE:55

NAME: Rita Tong Liu

NET WORTH:$2.3B

CITIZENSHIP:Hong Kong

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Real estate

AGE:76

NAME: Ye Qiongjiu

NET WORTH:$2.3B

CITIZENSHIP:China

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Software

AGE:70

NAME: Susan Ocampo & family

NET WORTH: $2.2B

CITIZENSHIP: United States

SOURCE OF WEALTH:Semiconductors

AGE:67

NAME: Chu Lam Yiu

NET WORTH: $2.1B

CITIZENSHIP: Hong Kong

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Flavorings

AGE:55