According to Forbes, women made up slightly more than 10% of their 2014 list of the World’s Billionaires. A record number that stands out from lists in previous years. Women might still be underrepresented in wealth ranks, but this year is undoubtedly off to a great start. Fresh faces have stepped into the scene with their own entrepreneurial endeavors in addition to those who have steadily climbed up the ranks throughout the years.
Check out some of the women in the billionaire’s club who have continued to grow their wealth and break the nine figure mark.
Abigail Johnson
Net worth: $17.3 billion
Johnson is the front-runner for the CEO position of Fidelity Investment since her father is expected to step down soon. In the meantime, she is the president of Fidelity Financial Services. She completed an M.B.A at Harvard University and has been with Fidelity Investments ever since. Her grandfather was the founder of the company and it is currently the second-largest mutual fund company.
(Photo by Essdras M Suarez/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Laurene Powell Jobs
Net worth: $14 billion
The wife of the late Steve Jobs is the largest individual shareholder in Disney. Her husband’s trust gave her a sizable stake in Apple and Disney. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania in 1895. Afterwards, she received her M.B.A from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Powell Jobs also co-founded Terravera, a natural foods company
(Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Sheryl Sandberg
Net worth: $1 billion
Sandberg is currently the COO of social media giant Facebook. She was previously the vice-president of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google. She graduated from Harvard College summa cum laude and earned her M.B.A from Harvard’s Business School with highest distinction. Sandberg recently became one of the world’s youngest self-made millionaire.
(Photo by Ramin Talaie/Getty Images)
Jane Lauder
Net worth: $1.3 billion
The granddaughter of cosmetics legend Estée Lauder recently became America’s youngest female billionaire following a transfer of shares. She started taking the helm of the company’s mall-staple skin-care line Clinique earlier this month. She joined her family’s company a year after she graduated from Stanford University. Additionally, she was the youngest-ever appointee to the Federal Reserve Board.
(Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images for American Express Publishing)
Aerin Lauder
Net worth: $1.2 billion
Lauder is an American businesswoman and sister to fellow rich list member Jane Lauder. The surging value of her stake pushed her into becoming one of 2014’s latest female billionaires. She is currently the style and image director for Estée Lauder Companies. In addition, she has her own cosmetic, perfume, fashion, and furniture line named AERIN. She worked at the family company even when she was still studying at Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
(Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Michael Kors)
Sara Blakely
Net worth: $1 billion
Blakely is an American businesswoman and founder of undergarment company Spanx. She is currently the youngest self-made female billionaire. At age 27, she started working on Spanx while working for Danka, an office supply company. She spend two years working on it used $5,000 she has set aside in her savings. Several factories initially turned her down, but that didn’t stop her from making her dream a reality. Spanx had $4 million in sales in its first year and more than double in the next.
(Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for FORTUNE)
Tory Burch
Net worth: $1 billion
Burch is an American fashion designer, business woman, philanthropist. She worked at Haper’s Bazaar magazine and at Vera Wang for quite some time. Afterwards, she founded a fashion label called “TRB by Tory Burch,” which is now known as simply “Tory Burch.” The company currently has 100 stores worldwide and her fashion line is carried at over 1,000 department and specialty stores around the globe as well.
(Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/WireImage)
Folorunsho Alakija
Net worth: $2.6 billion
Alakija is the richest woman and first female billionaire in Nigeria. She also reportedly toppled Oprah as the richest black woman in the world. She is a business tycoon involved in the fashion, oil, and printing industries. She started out as a secretary at Pitman’s Central College, London. Additionally, she studied fashion design at the American College and the Central School of Fashion. She now resides in Nigeria with her husband and four sons.
(Photo from ladybrillemag.com)
Denise Coates
Net worth: $1.6 billion
Coates founded online gambling business Bet365. She is familiar with the betting business since she worked as a cashier for her father’s betting shops and even took over some of them. Her online betting platform is currently the world’s largest online gaming and betting business. Consequently, she is considered to be one of the wealthiest businesswomen in the United Kingdom.
Image via Guardian
Christy Walton
Net worth: $36.7 billion
She is currently 2014’s richest woman in the world according to Forbes toppling Lilianne Bettencourt of L’Oréal. The bulk of her wealth comes from the inheritance her late husband John T. Walton, one of the sons of the founder of Wal-Mart, left behind. Walton also gives back to the community through her philanthropic activities. According to a profile done by Condé Nast Portfolio magazine in The Giving Index, she is also the highest ranked female philanthropist based on the amount she gives as a percentage of her wealth.
(Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
