Julia Koch, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers and MacKenzie Scott, some of the richest women in the world
Women occupy a small but growing space in Forbes US list of world billionaires. This year, 369 of the 2,781 billionaires, or 13.3%, are womencompared to 337 in 2023, when they represented 12.8% of the list. Together, they have almost US$1.8 trillion (R$9 trillion)around US$240 billion (R$1.2 trillion) more than last year.
The richest woman in the world for the fourth consecutive year is L’Oréal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers. His fortune increased by US$19 billion (R$95.9 billion) in the last 12 months, which made his net worth reach US$99.5 billion (R$502.7 billion), higher than anyone else’s woman on the 2024 list. In January of this year, she became the first woman to accumulate a fortune of US$100 billion (R$505 billion).
For more than two decades, a L’Óreal or Walmart heiress has held the top spot among the richest women. Bettencourt Meyers assumed the role for the first time in 2019, two years after the death of her mother, Liliane Bettencourt, who held the title for six years, from 2006 to 2017.
Alice Walton, the only daughter of the Walmart founder, is the second richest woman in the world, and held the top spot in 2018 and 2020. Her sister-in-law, Christy Walton, ranked above her for seven years after the death of her husband, John Walton, in a helicopter crash; Her fortune was later divided between her and her son, Lukas.
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Heiresses and businesswomen
Nine of the 10 richest women inherited their fortunes, whether from their parents, their husbands or, in one case, their mother. MacKenzie Scott is the only one in the top 10 who got her fortune through a divorce.
Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife, with a net worth of US$35.6 billion (R$179.8 billion), a gain of US$11.2 billion (R$56.5 billion) compared to last year, despite working to distribute his fortune. The billionaire philanthropist recently donated US$640 million (R$3.2 billion) to more than 300 non-profit organizations, bringing her total philanthropic donations to US$17.3 billion (R$87.4 billion). If she hadn’t been so generous, she would have US$69 billion (R$348.6 billion) today and would be the third woman on the list, not the fifth.
Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, co-founder of one of the largest shipping companies in the world, is once again the richest self-made woman in the world. She is also the seventh richest woman on the Forbes list and the only one in the top 10 to have built her own fortune.
This year, 100 women on the billionaires list are self-made, which means they founded or co-founded a company or built their own wealth. Another 200 women inherited their fortunes, while 69 work to expand the successful businesses they inherited.
Abigail Johnson is the richest woman who inherited a company and is working to grow it. She is the 10th richest in the world this year, rising one position compared to last year. The CEO of Fidelity Investments replaced her father in 2014 and helped grow revenue to a record US$28.2 billion (R$142.4 billion) in 2023.
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Newcomers to the list of richest women in the world
They are 46 New Women Who Earned a Spot on the 2024 List, some due to the rise in shares and others due to inheritance. The richest newcomers are two sisters, Märta Schörling Andreen and Sofia Högberg Schörling, from Sweden. Their father, billionaire investor Melker Schörling, died in December 2023 and left his fortune to his daughters, aged 39 and 45. Each has assets of US$5.6 billion (R$28.29 billion).
Two other newcomers are from the technology sector: Michelle Zatlyn, co-founder of cybersecurity company Cloudflare, and Lisa Su, who leads semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices. Both benefited from rising shares in their respective companies last year.
The biggest highlight of this year’s list is the arrival of pop star Taylor Swift. Her Eras Tour earned her an estimated US$190 million (R$959.9 million) after tax, helping to make her the first billionaire singer exclusively from performances, recordings and a lucrative US$500 million music catalogue. 2.5 billion). She debuted as a billionaire in October 2023.
The 10 richest women in the world
The assets are as of March 8, 2024.
*Samantha Kroontje is a contributor to Forbes US. She is a reporter in New York covering billionaires and their companies.