Self-made women are sometimes called “Rising Tides.” They lift themselves, but they also lift many others with them. And that is a very good thing for the nation.
Forbes just released its seventh annual ranking of America’s Richest Self-Made Women and it is clear that these women are going from strength to strength. The total net worth of this year’s list is $118 billion. That’s an increase of 31% jump over last year.
Twenty-six women cut for the first time, including pop singer Rihanna and 23andMe co-founder Anne Wojcicki. Twenty-three were on last year’s list.
Twenty-six are billionaires, up from 23 last year, including newcomer Dolly Parton. The cutoff for making the ranks to $225 million from $150 million just the past year was because 13 women fell below that line.
Top 10 Self-made Successful Women of America
Diane Hendricks
Self-Made Networth – $ 11 B
Hendricks led ABC and made the two biggest acquisitions by buying rival Bradco and building materials distributor L&W Supply in 2010 and 2016. There are around 800 branches with revenue of over $12 billion. With millions of contributions every year, the Diane Hendricks Foundation has been a big supporter of education, organizations that help end human trafficking, and medical research.
Personal Details
Income Source – Roofing | Self-made
Age – 74
Citizenship – United States
Educational Background – Diploma
Marital Status – Widowed
Children – 7
Self-Made Score – 9
Oprah Winfrey
Real-Time Net Worth – $ 26B
Oprah Winfrey is an American media executive, actress, talk show host, television producer, and philanthropist. She is best known for hosting the long-running TV show “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and leading magazine “O”. Winfrey is one of the most influential people in the world. She has been ranked the richest African-American of the 20th century, the greatest black philanthropist in American history, and is currently North America’s only black billionaire for three years in a row.
Winfrey launched OWN, a cable channel in 2011. The network is currently valued at $800 million. As of 2018, OWN is the #1 TV network among black women and one of only three with an African American majority audience. She also has Oprah Radio, a Sirius XM channel.
Personal Details
Income Source – TV Shows | Self-Made
Age – 68
Citizenship – United States
Educational Background – Bachelor of Arts/Science, Tennessee State University
Marital Status – In a Relationship
Self-Made Score – 10
Judy Faulkner
Self-Made Networth $ 6.5 B
Epic, a leading medical-record software provider was founded by Judy Falker in 1979. The company started with 4 employees and has grown to over 12,000 employees in the United States and Europe. As a computer programmer, Faulkner is still the CEO of the company. In 2015, she signed the Giving Pledge and agreed to give up 99% of her assets before she dies.
Personal Details
Income Source – Health IT | Self-Made
Age – 78
Citizenship – United States
Educational Background – Bachelor of Arts/Science, Dickinson College; Master of Science, University of Wisconsin
Marital Status – Married
Children – 3
Self-Made Score – 8
Rihanna
Self-Made Networth 1.7B
The popular singer is now officially a billionaire after she gained the status earlier this year. Rihanna also launched her own cosmetics line Fenty Beauty which sold $100 million in its first 20 days, breaking the record for highest first-year sales of a beauty brand.
Rihanna who co-owns a cosmetic company with LVMH turned down a $550 million advertising campaign.
The Fenty lingerie line which Rihanna has a stake of 30% is now worth $1 billion. However, the Fenty line is now halted as the operations didn’t do well.
Personal Details
In Income Source – Cosmetic | Music | Self-Made
Age – 33
Citizenship – Barbados
Self-Made Score – 10
Alice Schwartz
Self-Made Networth – $ 2.9 B
Together with her husband, Shwartz launched Bio-Rad Laboratories in a Berkeley Quonset hut with $720 in savings. Today, the products in Bio-Rad are used in scientific research and clinical diagnostics.
Widowed in 2012, Shwartz now serves on the Board of Directors at Bio-Rad.
Personal Details
Income Source – Biotech | Self-Made
Age – 95
Citizenship – United States
Marital Status – Widowed
Children – 2
Educational Background – Bachelor of Arts/Science, University of California, Berkeley
Self-Made Score – 8
Kim Kardashian
Self-Made Networth – $ 1.2B
With millions of followers on Instagram, the reality TV queen has expanded her fortune to shapewear. Kardashian West launched her shapewear line called Kimono in 2016.
She then sold 20% of her company to Coty for $200 million. She then founded the brand Skims in 2019 and plans to release it soon.
A divorce was filed between Kardashian and their husband Kanye West in Feb 2021.
Personal Details
Income Source – Cosmetics | Reality TV | Self-Made
Age – 41
Citizenship – United States
Marital Status – Divorced
Children – 4
Self-Made Score – 7
Sheryl Sandberg
Self-Made Networth – $ 1.9B
As the chief operating officer at Facebook, Sandberg is at the forefront in making sure that Facebook is a place where people can connect. During the year 2020, Facebook is valued at $850 billion and ad revenue increases by 21% to $84.2 billion.
As per the reporters of the New York Times Sandberg and Zuckerberg’s relationship is at the point of no return. However, the relationship was denied by a spokesperson for Facebook.
Personal Details
Income Source – Social Networking | Self-Made
Age – 52
Citizenship – United States
Educational Background – Master of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; Bachelor of Arts/Science, Harvard University
Mariital Status – Engaged
Children – 5
Self-Made Score – 6
Eren Ozmen
Self-Made Networth $ 1.4B
Ozmen who co-founded Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) with her husband in 1983 is now the majority owner of SNC. As per Bloomberg 2016 rankings, SNC is ranked as the 31st largest US defense contractor and they expect it to increase by 2023.
Moreover, the two companies under SNC are now taking orders worth $2.5 billion.
Personal Details
In Income Source – Aerospace | Self-Made
Age – 63
Citizenship – United States
Educational Background – Master of Business Administration, the University of Nevada at Reno
Mariital Status – Married
Children – 2
Self-Made Score – 9
Elaine Wynn
Self-Made Networth – $ 2.2B
Wynn who owns two casinos- Wynn Macau and Encore Macau bought the unprofitable Mirage Resorts company in 2000.
According to reports, her ex-husband who was then the CEO had to step down after facing allegations of non-disclosure and sexual misconduct. Wynn has a stake in more than $2 billion worth of her ex-husband’s stock.
In 2016, Wynn was appointed by Trump for the Art in Embassies program.
Personal Details
Income Source – Hotels | Casinos | Self-Made
Age – 79
Citizenship – United States
Educational Background – Bachelor of Arts/Science, George Washington University
Marital Status – Divorced
Children – 2
Self-Made Score – 8
Meg Whitman
Self-Made Networth – $ 6.3B
Popular as the former CEO of eBay, Whitman now has a net worth of $1.7 billion as per Forbes 2019 ranking. As the CEO of Hewlett-Packard, Whitman turned the company around and it rose to $45 billion. She was offered a position in the Trump cabinet but she declined.
A worthy investment- in 2018, Whitman invested in an e-sports company based in LA and managed to get a seat on the board of directors.
Personal Details
In Income Source – eBay | Self-Made
Age – 65
Citizenship – United States
Marital Status – Married
Children – 2
Educational Background – Master of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; Bachelor of Arts/Science, Princeton University
Self-Made Score – 6
More Reads – CAN WE PREDICT THE CRYPTOCURRENCY RULER FOR 2022?
Comment Template