Women account for just over 13% of the world’s billionaires. They are richer than ever before.
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| Françoise Bettencourt Meyers. Photo: Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty Images via businessinsider.com |
Women occupy a small but growing slice of Forbes’ World Billionaires list. This year 369 out of 2,781 billionaires or 13.3% are women, up from 337 in 2023, when women accounted for 12.8% of the list. Together they are worth nearly $1.8 trillion, about $240 billion more than last year.
The world’s richest woman for the fourth consecutive year is L’Oréal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers. Her fortune jumped $19 billion in the past 12 months, putting her net worth at $99.5 billion, the biggest gain of any woman on the 2024 list, but just short for her to become the first woman to crack the swelling ranks of the $100 billion club.
Here are the top 10 richest women in the world:
Top 10 Richest Women In The World 2024
- Françoise Bettencourt Meyers & family | Net Worth: $99.5 Billion | Age: 70 | Source of Wealth: L’Oréal | Citizenship: France
- Alice Walton | Net Worth: $72.3 Billion | Age: 74 | Source of Wealth: Walmart | Citizenship: U.S.
- Julia Koch & family | Net Worth: $64.3 Billion | Age: 61 | Source of Wealth: Koch Industries | Citizenship: U.S.
- Jacqueline Mars | Net Worth: $38.5 Billion | Age: 84 | Source of Wealth: Candy, pet food | Citizenship: U.S.
- MacKenzie Scott | Net Worth: $35.6 Billion | Age: 53 | Source of Wealth: Amazon | Citizenship: U.S.
- Savitri Jindal & family | Net worth: $33.5 Billion | Age: 74 | Source of Wealth: Steel | Citizenship: India
- Rafaela Aponte-Diamant | Net Worth: $33.1 Billion | Age: 79 | Source of Wealth: Shipping | Citizenship: Switzerland and Italy
- Miriam Adelson & family | Net Worth: $32 Billion | Age: 78 | Source of Wealth: Casinos | Citizenship: U.S.
- Gina Rinehart | Net Worth: $30.8 Billion | Age: 70 | Source of Wealth: Mining | Citizenship: Australia
- Abigail Johnson | Net Worth: $29 Billion | Age: 62 | Source of Wealth: Fidelity Investments | Citizenship: U.S.
