Although it has not been very long that women were allowed to amass wealth on their own, many women today feature amongst the richest people in the world. Here is a list of the 7 richest women in the world.
1. Christy Walton
Christy Walton is the richest woman in the world for the third time this year. She is the widow of John Walton, the Walmart scion. She is also the richest amongst all Walton relatives. Her net worth is calculated at $26.5 billion.
2. Liliane Bettencourt
Liliane is the heiress to the L’Oreal legacy. It was her father Eugene Schueller who created the L’Oreal company that now has over 23 global brands and 64,000 employees. This is the first time that Liliane Bettencourt is at the #2 position. Her net worth is calculated at $23.5 billion.
3. Alice Walton
This is the second Walton family member in the list of the richest women in the world. She inherited her wealth from Sam Walton,co-founder of the chain store Walmart in 1962. Walmart has the honor of being the world’s largest retailer and its annual dividends have been increasing year by year. Her net worth is calculated at $21.2 billion.
4. Iris Fontbana
It is hardly surprising to find Chilean Iris Fontbana in the list of the richest women in the world. She inherited her wealth from husband Andronico Luksic, owner of the world’s largest and most productive copper mines. She was his second wife. The net worth of the company keeps increasing and so does her net worth. The worth of her company doubled in the last year and is expected to increase this year. Her net worth is calculated ay $19.2 billion.
5. Susanne Klatten
Her wealth began with inherited stakes in the BMW company from father Herbert Quandt. However, she also inherited 50% stakes in chemical pharmaceuticals company Altana which over time, she has increased to 100%. She also holds stakes in the wind power company Nordex AG as well as a number of other companies. She is a trained economist and MBA. Her net worth is calculated at $14.6 billion.
6. Birgit Rausing
She inherited her wealth from her husband Gad Rausing on his death in 2000. She was the son of the founder of the Swedish packaging giant Tetra Laval. The company now has presence in 135 countries and employs 31,000 people. Her net worth is calculated at $14 billion.
7. Anne Cox Chambers
Anne Cox Chambers inherited her wealth from her late father James M. Cox who founded the Cox Enterprises. Cox Enterprises has a number of business interests mainly in the field of media and mass communications as well as automobiles. Her net worth is calculated at $13.4 billion.
You may have noticed that all the women in this list of 7 richest women in the world have inherited their wealth from their late husbands or fathers. In fact, only one woman in the top 20 richest women in the world is self made.