People often think that men are usually the ones who easily become billionaires but you can't deny the fact that there are lots of women around the world who have managed to become billionaires as well. While a number of then inherited their billion-dollar fortune from a parent or grandparent, many of them have also studied hard and worked their butts off to get their own billion-dollar earnings. This list will show you some of the wealthiest women in the world who are set for life, and whose future descendants will likely be promised a life of luxury.
Marie Besnier Beauvalot - Lactalis Shareholder
Marie Besier Beauvalot is a part of the Besnier family who is behind the dairy corporation named Lactalis. She inherited a billion-dollar net worth after their family's corporation was left to her and her brothers back in 2000 when their father, Michel Besnier, passed away. She and her brother, Jean-Michel Besnier, are major shareholders while her other brother, Emmanuel Besnier, serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the corporation. Not much about her personal life is known because she chooses to live a very private life.
Ana Lucia de Mattos Barretto Villela - Shareholder At Itau-Unibanco & Duratex
In Brazil, Ana Lucia de Mattos Barretto Villela is the youngest woman who has billions in the bank. Her family is a big name in the banking industry there for they are behind Itau-Unibanco. She is one of the biggest shareholders of Itau-Unibanco's holding company, Itausa, and she is also a shareholder of the company her grandfather put up called Duratex. Her aunt was the one who raised her because her parents died in a tragic plane crash back in 1992.
Lee Seo-Hyun - Samsung Fashion Division President
Lee Seo-Hyun is one of the daughters of Lee Kun-hee. Kun-hee is the billionaire chairman of Apple's biggest rival, Samsung. Lee Seo-Hyun is currently a part of the company's fashion division. She actually finished her college degree at New York's Parson's School of Design and later worked as a manager at the Chiel Industries of Samsung back in 2002.
Tamara Ecclestone - Bernie Ecclestone's Daughter
Bernie Ecclestone is the billionaire who is behind the Formula One Group. The beautiful Tamara Ecclestone is his daughter with former wife Slavica. Tamara seems like she is well-supported financially because she doesn't really plan to become a head in the Formula One Group. She did star in Tamara Ecclestone: Billion $$$ Girl and Tamara's World which were her very own reality shows. She and her husband, Jay Rutland, have a daughter named Sofia and their family lives in a property located in London's Kensington Palace Gardens.
Serra Sabanci - Sabanci Holding Boardmember
Sabanci Holding is the biggest financial and industrial conglomerate in Turkey. Serra Sabanci is currently a board member of Sabanci Holding's group of companies. She only started working for the family business back in 1996 when her father, Ozdemir Sabanci, was assassinated by people from the DHKP-C leftist armed group. After earning her degree from the University of Portsmouth, she went to İstanbul Bilgi University's Department of Economics and graduated with honors.
Athina Onassis - Aristotle Onassis' Granddaughter
Athina Onassis is the daughter of shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis' only daughter, the late Christina Onassis. Athina is one of the few surviving members of the Onassis family and she truly got a huge inheritance. Athina has been pursuing an equestrian career ever since her teenage days and today, she continues to compete in showjumping. She was once married to Álvaro de Miranda Neto who is an Olympic showjumper but the two parted ways in 2017.
Charlotte Casiraghi -Rainier III, Prince of Monaco & Grace Kelly's Granddaughter
When it comes to claiming the throne of Monaco, Charlotte Casiraghi is eighth in line. She is the daughter of the Princess of Hanover, Caroline, with Italian businessman Stefano Casiraghi. She graduated from the Paris-Sorbonne University with a License of Philosophy. She has pursued an equestrian and journalism career while also being active in their family's activities. She is known to be engaged to Dimitri Rassam but their wedding has been postponed due to her pregnancy.
Sara Blakely - Creator of Spanx
Almost any woman who has slipped into a tight dress knows the wonders that Spanx can do. Sara Blakely is the woman behind the very successful company. She built her company from the ground up but she has Oprah Winfrey to thank for her company's success because her company became a huge hit ever since Oprah dubbed Spanx as a "favorite thing" back in 2000. Today, she is already 47 years old and has a net worth of $1.03 billion.
Alexandra Andresen - Daughter of Ferd AS' Johan H. Andresen Jr.
Alexandra Andresen is only 22 years old but her trust fund is already estimated to be at $1.4 billion. Johan H. Andresen Jr. is her father who is the man behind the holding company, Ferd AS. Approximately 42.2% of the ownership stakes of the company were given to Alexandra and her sister, Katharina. Even with that being said, Johan is not forcing his daughters to work for the family business unless they really want to. Alexandra is an equestrienne who competes in horse dressage competitions.
Perenna Kei - Majority Owner Of Logan Property Holdings
Perenna Kei is one of the big bosses of Logan Property Holdings which is a real estate company. She reportedly owns 85% of the company and became a billionaire when she was 24 years old. Her father, Ji Haipeng, serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the company. Perenna went to the London School of Economics and earned an economics bachelor's degree. Her fortune is estimated to be at $1.3 billion as of today.
Yvonne Bauer - Majority Owner Of The Bauer Media Group
Yvonne Bauer is a part of the family behind the media company, The Bauer Media Group. She went to the University of Bamberg and majored in German philology. She has three other sisters who each owns 5% of the company while Yvonne owns the other 85%. She is estimated to be worth over $3 billion as of today. Yvonne is currently residing in Hamburg, Germany with her husband, journalist Enno Koch, and their twins.
Margarita Louis-Dreyfus - Louis Dreyfus Company's Chairperson
Margarita Louis-Dreyfus serves as the chairperson of the successful global merchant firm called Louis Dreyfus Company. She tied the knot with French billionaire Robert Louis-Dreyfus back in 1992 and the couple had three sons together. Sadly, leukemia put an end to Robert's life in 2009 and Margarita later took over the company. She is already in her mid-50s and her fortune is said to be more than $5 billion by now. Impressive indeed!
Lynsi Snyder - Owner Of In-N-Out Burger
Lynsi Snyder is a member of the family behind the tasty burgers you get to eat at In-N-Out Burger. Lynsi's grandparents, Harry and Esther Snyder, were the ones who put up the burger chain back in 1948. Exactly 50% of the company was transferred to her by her father when she was 30 years old and she eventually became the sole owner of the company when she turned 35 years old. Her net worth is estimated to be a little over $1 billion.
Jane Lauder - Granddaughter of Estée Lauder
Jane Lauder is the other granddaughter of Estée Lauder. After going to Chapin school, she was able to earn a degree from Stanford University. She started working for their family's business when she was about 23 years old. By 2013, she was already serving as the general manager and global president of Origins, Ojon, and Darphin which are all brands under the Estée Lauder Companies. These days, her fortune is estimated to be at $2.6 billion.
Elizabeth Holmes - Ex-CEO of Theranos
Elizabeth Holmes founded the health technology corporation called Theranos. The company earned Holmes billions into her bank account back in 2015 but this was short-lived. It was later alleged that the company was committing fraud after their Edison blood testing device was discovered to be very inaccurate. Holmes is no longer the Chief Executive Officer ever since she received an indictment due to the alleged fraud. Jennifer Lawrence will apparently play Holmes in an upcoming movie by Adam McKay.
Georgina Bloomberg - Professional Equestrian & Michael Bloomberg's Daughter
Georgina Bloomberg is the daughter of Michael Bloomberg and Susan Brown. Her father used to serve as New York City's Mayor and is also the man behind Bloomberg L.P. Like a lot of wealthy heiresses on this list, Georgina has pursued a professional equestrian career. After going to the Gallatin School of Individualized Study of New York University, she was also able to go to the Parsons Fashion Design College. Outside of her equestrian career, she co-authored some books and has been engaging in a number of philanthropic activities.
Anna Anissimova - Paris Hilton Of Russia
Paris Hilton is truly one of the most famous heiresses in the United States but in Russia, Anna Anissimova is the wealthy heiress who is Ms. Hilton's counterpart. Her father is Vasily V. Anisimov and he became a billionaire after entering the metal trading business. These days, he is working as a property developer. Anna is not really involved in the family business but she has found success as an actress. She is reported to have three upcoming movies.
Josie Ho - Actress & Daughter Of Stanley Ho
Josie Ho is the daughter of Stanley Ho. Stanley is a billionaire who found success as a casino magnate. Josie has been pursuing acting in Hong Kong ever since the mid-1990s. By the looks of it, she seems like she has no plans working for her father anytime soon. She is recognized for the roles she had in movies like Exiled, Dream Home, and Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. Josie also makes money from the film production company she co-owns called 852 Films.
Christy Walton - John T. Walton's Widow
Christy Walton is the wife of the son of Walmart's founder. Her husband, John T. Walton, passed away back in 2005 due to a plane crash. This later led to her billion-dollar inheritance and today, her fortune is estimated to be over $6 billion. Her Walmart shares are not the only ones that increased her wealth for they also have shares in First Solar that apparently went up by 47% already. Their family has a charity organization called the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation.
Abigail Johnson - Fidelity Investment's CEO
For about four years already, Abigail Johnson has been working as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Fidelity Investments, an American investment company. She also serves as Fidelity International's chairman. Her grandfather was Edward C. Johnson II and he founded the company way back in 1946. Abigail is one of the richest women in the world because her fortune is estimated to have already reached over a whopping $16 billion.
Yang Huiyan - Country Garden Holding's Majority Shareholder
Yang Huiyan is reportedly the richest woman in Asia, with a fortune estimated to be at $25.8 billion. She controls 55% of the property development company called Country Garden Holdings. Her father, Yeung Guoqiang, was the one who put up the company back in 1997. Yang was able to finish her studies at Ohio State University in 2003 and just four years later, her father gave her most of the shares of his company.
Pansy Ho - Businesswoman & Daughter of Stanley Ho
Pansy Ho followed in the footsteps of her father, Stanley Ho, and became a successful businesswoman. She is the sister of the previously mentioned Hong Kong actress, Josie Ho. Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau and Shun Tak Holdings are her father's companies where she currently serves as a managing director. She also owns 29% of the lavish Macau casino, the MGM Grand Macau. Pansy is now in her mid-50s and keeps her wealth management team busy with her $5-billion fortune.
María Asunción Aramburuzabala - Chairperson At Tresalia Capital
María Asunción Aramburuzabala is one of the wealthiest people in Mexico. Her family was behind the beer company called Grupo Modelo and she took charge after he father, Pablo Aramburuzabala, passed away back in 1995 due to lung cancer. Beverage company Anheuser-Busch InBev acquired Grupo Modelo in 2013 but María still chose to invest her money in Anheuser-Busch InBev. She now serves as a chairperson at Tresalia Capital which is a venture capital firm in Mexico.
Gayle Cook - Cook Group Co-Founder
Gayle Cook and her husband, the late William Cook, founded the Cook Group in 1963, which is a successful manufacturer of medical equipment. She studied at the Indiana University and graduated in 1956 with a Fine Arts degree. She was also a member of the academic honor society named Phi Beta Kappa. After her husband passed away in 2011, Gayle took over his stakes in the company and her fortune today is already estimated to be around $5.8 billion.
Randa Duncan Williams - Enterprise Products Heiress
Randa Duncan Williams in the daughter of Dan Duncan. Dan is the man behind the pipeline company called Enterprise Products. Randa was also able to go to Rice University and obtain a bachelor's degree but she also managed to get a Juris Doctor degree from the Univerity of Houston. From 1994 up until 2001, Randa was able to serve as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Enterprise Products. Her inheritance was no doubt huge (billions) after her father's death in 2001.
Antonia Johnson - Axel Johnson AB Heiress
Antonia Johnson hails from the family who is behind the trading company, Axel Johnson AB. Her great-grandfather was the one who put up the company way back in 1973. Antonia is a very smart woman because she was able to go to Stockholm University and obtain a master's degree in economics and psychology. Her fortune is estimated to be at $6.4 billion today. Antonia also devotes a lot of her time to supporting a number of Swedish charities.
Tatiana Casiraghi - Owns Muzungu Sisters
Tatiana Casiraghi is only in her 30s but she already has over $2 billion in her bank account. This is because she inherited a sixth of her grandfather's fortune when he passed away. Her grandfather, Julio Mario Santo Domingo, was the man behind the Bavaria Brewery and the Santo Domingo Group. Tatiana is also successful on her own because she has her own fashion company called Muzungu Sisters. She is married to Monaco Royalty, Andrea Casiraghi, and the two have three children together.
Oprah Winfrey - Actress, Talkshow Host & Producer
Who doesn't know about Oprah? This self-made African-American woman is a universal symbol of love, happiness, success, and kindness. Leading the 21st century with one of the most successful careers, Oprah has written many books, has her own talk show and has so much more under her name! With talents like her, she's able to flourish her bank balance and maintain it. And now she's set to run the world!
Holly Branson - Businesswoman & Philanthropist
Richard Branson is the man behind the Virgin Group. Holly Branson is his daughter who has always wanted to pursue a career as a doctor. She was able to graduate from med school and later started working at the Westminster Hospital in their neurology department. It was really inevitable for her to join the family business so by 2008, she started as an intern and eventually became a part of the senior team. Aside from this, she is also a very famous philanthropist.
Ivanka Trump - Donald Trump's Daughter
Ivanka Trump is the beautiful daughter of current U.S. President Donald Trump. Ivanka actually started out in the modeling industry but she eventually left because she didn't really like it. She takes credit for being a cum laude graduate from the Wharton School where she majored in economics. Today, she works as a senior adviser to her father. Aside from her business career, she also made a ton of earnings through her work as an author and TV personality.
Amanda Hearst - Editor, Activist & Hearst Corporation Heiress
Amanda Heart is a part of the family behind the Hearst Corporation. She actually dropped out of college to pursue a career in the modeling industry. She eventually knew the importance of getting a degree so she later went to the Fordham University and earned an art history degree. Today, she works at Marie Claire as their associate market editor. She is also the brains behind an organization called 'Friends of Finn' which aims to put an end to puppy mills.
Laurene Powell Jobs - Widow Of Steve Jobs
Laurene Powell Jobs was the wife of Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs. When her husband passed away in 2011, she was in for a huge inheritance and she is now in charge of the Steven P. Jobs Trust. Laurene is also quite successful on her own because she is the woman behind the non-profit organization called Emerson Collective. Given the huge wealth that she possesses, it is nice to see that she makes sure that she is very busy with numerous philanthropic activities.
Melania Trump - First Lady Of The United States
Before becoming the first lady of the United States of America, Melania Trump was a well known Slovenian-American fashion model and a fitness icon. Now that she is married to Donald Trump and lives in the White House, she still is an independent woman. She launched her very own jewelry line back in 2010 by the name of Melania Timepieces and Jewelry. And then, Melania also launched her skincare collection. This collection is currently sold in only high-end departmental stores and markets.
Dylan Lauren - Owner of Dylan's Candy Bar
Ralph Lauren is the man behind one of the most successful fashion brands in the world. He has a beautiful daughter named Dylan Lauren who is a successful entrepreneur herself. No, she did not get million-dollar earnings by joining the family business for she has been able to start her own business. She is the woman behind Dylan's Candy Bar which is apparently the biggest candy store globally. It's not obvious, but she is already 44 years old.
Aerin Lauder - Granddaughter of Estée Lauder
Aerin Lauder's grandparents, Estée Lauder and Joseph Lauder, were the ones behind the Estée Lauder Companies. When Aerin was still a student at the University of Pennsylvania, she was already starting to work for the family business. Today, she is the image and style director for the company. She was also able to release AERIN, which is her own line of furniture, cosmetics, perfume, and clothes. Her shares in the company amount to around 16 million already.