You can probably name a few richest men in the world like Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos, yet wealthy women remain somewhat of a mystery to the majority of people. It appears there are plenty of them, too! Some inherited their family fortunes, while others were married to millionaires or built successful businesses from scratch. Here are top 10 richest women in the world 2018.
Maria Franca Fissolo ($32.3 Billion)
Maybe you’ve never heard about Maria Franca Fissolo, but you certainly know her husband, Michele Ferrero, who passed away in 2015. He’s the one who made Ferrero such a huge brand, not to mention the nutty chocolate spread Nutella that can be found all over the world.
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers ($44.7 billion)
Daughter of the famous L’Óréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers inherited a huge fortune after her mother’s death, becoming one of the richest women in the world. She’s a head of the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation, but currently she’s more focused on writing.
Yang Huiyan ($22.3 Billion)
Yang Huiyan is easily the richest women in whole Asia, holding the majority of Country Garden Holdings shares. She inherited the shares from her father, who started the Biguiyuan company back in 1997.
Alice Walton ($45.6 Billion)
Alice Walton is the daughter of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart. Need we say more? She helps manage Walton Enterprises, but spends most of her time curating art.
Zhou Qunfei ($10.2 Billion)
Zhou Qunfei is a self-made billionaire, who started out as a worker at a factory that made watch lenses. She opened her own lens company at the age of 22 and went on producing glass screens for smartphones. She’s the wealthiest self-made woman on Earth!
Gina Rinehart ($17.2 Billion)
Is it hard for a woman to build a successful career in the mining field? You bet! But this is exactly what Gina Rinehart did, becoming Australia’s very own richest person. It also didn’t hurt a bit that she inherited the majority stake of Hancock Prospecting after her father passed away. Now she’s the chairman of the company.
Susanne Klatten ($24.4 Billion)
Meet Susanne Klatten, Germany’s richest woman of 2018. After her dad passed away, Susanne inherited his 50.1% stake in the chemical-producing company Altana, as well as a 12% stake in BMW. She’s literally making money while she sleeps!
Laurene Powell Jobs ($21.3 Billion)
Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Steven Jobs, is as smart as she is rich. The wealthiest woman in tech has degrees in economics and business, as well as political science. She founded the Emerson Collective organization that deals with environmental change, all kinds of social injustice, and education reforms.
Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken ($15.9 Billion)
Charlene’s name must be ringing a bell, especially the ‘Heineken’ part. Charlene works as an executive director at Heineken International, while owning 25% of the company’s shares. It is the third biggest brewing company in the world, so no wonder why she’s so wealthy.
Oprah Winfrey ($2.8 billion)
Oprah Winfrey may not be the wealthiest rich woman on the list, but she’s definitely one of the most successful and famous self-made female billionaires that have ever existed. She’s a philanthropist, owns her very own TV network, and has that magical ‘Oprah effect’ – everything she touches turns into gold! We mean whatever product she endorses becomes successful instantly.
