This has been a good year for the richest women on the planet, they have a net worth of $852.8 billion. They are 11% of the billionaires, most of the wealthiest women inherited their money. They have broken a new record because they are 227, a jump from 202 the last year.
Liliane Bettencourt, from France, is the wealthiest woman with a $39.5 billion net worth. Her fortune grew $3.4 billion since last year. Forbes reports that she and her children own a third of L'Oreal. Alice Walton is the second richest woman, her wealth is $33.8 billion. Her fortune grew $1.5 billion since last year.
Alice Walton is the only daughter of Sam Walton, the Wal-Mart founder. Alice is one of the four Walton women in the ranks, as a whole they own $49.5 billion. Rounding the ten richest women is a group of heiresses who make their fortunes from famous brands.
More information about billionaire women
Jacqueline Mars owns $27 billion, her grandfather Frank Mars founded Mars Inc. The largest candymaker on the planet was founded in his kitchen in 1911. Another wealthy woman is Maria Franca Fissolo, she owns $25.2 billion. Her father-in-law created the spread that became Nutella. Her husband, Michele Ferrero, built the Ferrero Group into a snacks powerhouse with brands such as Ferrero Rocher, Kinder Chocolate and Tic Tac.
Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs' widow, is among the richest women too. Her fortune reaches $20 billion because of her shares in Apple and Disney. Gina Rinehart had the best year, the iron ore businesswoman from Australia, saw her wealth jump from $6.2 billion to $15 billion. Rinehart is the richest person in the country and she helped build her wealth.
Rinehart took her late father's bankrupted estate and made it grow as much as possible. Her massive Roy Hill project is a world-class iron ore mine in Western Australia. It has already shipped 30 million tons of iron ore in the first 14 months of production.
