The 10 wealthiest women in the world command a combined fortune of $527.8 billion. Measured against nations, they would rank 31st in GDP, just behind the United Arab Emirates.
Yet they remain a rarefied group: Of 3,028 billionaires worldwide, only 406 are women — just 13.4% of the global elite, barely changed from 13.3% in 2024, according to Forbes data.
Some inherited empires, others built staggering fortunes from scratch or emerged with them from the embers of divorce. However they arrived at this peak, their paths are as varied as the women themselves. Their stories blend timing, vision and the will to command a stage long dominated by men, often within their own family dynasties.
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This small cadre now sits at the crossroads of immense wealth and strategic influence, redefining what it means to be both rich and relevant. Increasingly, these women are using their fortunes to reshape business, philanthropy and politics in the 21st century.
Here are the world’s 10 richest women and their stories — and what they’re doing with their seats at the summit.
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10. Melinda French Gates, 60
After earning degrees in computer science and economics and an MBA from Duke University, Melinda joined Microsoft Corp. (ticker: MSFT) in 1987 and met Bill Gates. They married in 1994 and co-founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000. It became the world’s largest private philanthropic organization, directing more than $100 billion toward global health, education and poverty before her departure in 2024. Following their divorce, she received $12.5 billion, growing her wealth to $30.3 billion.
In 2015, Gates launched Pivotal Ventures to close the funding gap for women founders and drive progress in caregiving, economic opportunity and tech innovation. More recently, she has emphasized women’s rights and family well-being. She is the author of two bestselling books: “The Moment of Lift” (2019) and “The Next Day” (2025). She has also emerged as a Democratic mega-donor, arguing that “having an absurd amount of wealth” comes with the duty to spark authentic, lasting change.
9. Marilyn Simons, 74
Drawn to economics early on, Marilyn earned both a B.A. and Ph.D. in the field at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, shaping her professional and philanthropic outlook. There she met Jim Simons, then chair of the math department, who later left academia to found Renaissance Technologies, a hedge fund that revolutionized investing through proprietary mathematical models. His flagship Medallion fund redefined quantitative finance. The two married in 1977 and remained together until Jim’s death in 2024.
In 1994, Marilyn and Jim co-founded the Simons Foundation, with Marilyn as founding president. Under her leadership, it grew into one of the nation’s largest philanthropic organizations, surpassing $5 billion in assets by 2022. In 2023, the foundation announced a landmark $500 million unrestricted gift to Stony Brook, the largest ever to a U.S. public university.
In 2003, they launched the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI), inspired by their eldest daughter’s diagnosis. Marilyn has emphasized that genetic and data-driven research progresses fastest when families are engaged. Today SFARI is one of the world’s largest private funders of autism studies. Together, the Simons have donated more than $5.2 billion, while Marilyn also lends leadership to education-focused nonprofits.
8. Miriam Adelson, 79
Born in Israel, Miriam Adelson built a distinguished career in addiction medicine before meeting Sheldon Adelson on a blind date in 1989. She trained at Tel Aviv University, served as chief internist at Rokach Hospital and later specialized in addiction research at Rockefeller University in New York. She also completed Israel’s mandatory military service as a medical officer at Ness Zion. Sheldon, a serial entrepreneur, had built and lost fortunes twice before age 30. He entered the Las Vegas casino market in 1988 with the Sands Hotel and Casino.
When they wed in 1991, they merged capital, influence and a shared sense of purpose. On their honeymoon, he conceived what would become the Venetian, reshaping the Vegas Strip. Together they opened their first substance abuse clinic in Israel in 1993, followed by another in Las Vegas in 2000. When Sheldon passed in 2021, Miriam inherited and retained majority ownership, extending their empire’s reach. Through leadership and philanthropy, she has advanced initiatives in medicine, journalism and geopolitics.
7. Abigail Johnson, 63
Abigail Johnson is CEO, president and chair of Fidelity Investments, one of the world’s largest asset managers. The granddaughter of founder Edward C. Johnson II, she graduated from William Smith College in 1984 with a degree in art history, the same year her grandfather passed away. Her rise was not automatic. After earning an MBA from Harvard, she joined Fidelity in 1988 as an analyst and portfolio manager, eventually assuming full leadership in 2016 after nearly three decades with the firm. The Johnson family owns about 40% of the company, with Abigail’s stake estimated to be between 24% and 28%.
Fidelity pioneered actively managed mutual funds for everyday investors and Abigail has built on that legacy with bold innovations. She removed minimums for brokerage accounts, introduced zero commissions on online stock trades and launched the industry’s first zero-expense-ratio index funds. She also expanded into cryptocurrency, making Fidelity one of the first major firms to offer institutional Bitcoin and Ether trading.
Regularly ranked among the world’s most powerful women, she placed fifth on Forbes’ list (2022) and second on American Banker’s “Most Powerful Women in Finance” in 2023. She is also the first and only woman to serve on the influential board of the Financial Services Forum.
6. Savitri Jindal, 75
Tragedy thrust Savitri Jindal into her role as chair of the O.P. Jindal Group, instantly making her the wealthiest woman in India. At just 16, she married industrialist Om Prakash (O.P.) Jindal after the death of her older sister, his first wife, stepping into a household of six children and later adding three of her own. For nearly four decades they shared life together as he expanded his steel and power businesses and rose to national prominence in both industry and politics. In 2005, his life was cut short when foul weather brought down his helicopter.
Before his death, O.P. had divided the group into four entities led by their sons, naming Savitri chairperson to safeguard family unity, important in Indian culture. After the crash, she became the unifier and stabilizer of the conglomerate. Under her steady leadership, revenues quadrupled, fueling growth across steel, energy, mining and infrastructure.
Beyond business, she entered politics in 2005, winning seats in the Haryana Legislative Assembly and later as an independent in Hisar, extending her influence beyond party lines. Despite limited formal education, Savitri is celebrated for her resilience and humility, and she leads Maharaja Agrasen Medical College, advancing medical education and community development.
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5. Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, 80
Rafaela Aponte-Diamant is the first woman on this list to have built her fortune from the ground up. Born in Haifa in British-ruled Palestine in 1945, she moved with her family to Switzerland as a child, where her father worked as an executive banker in Geneva, exposing her to global finance. While traveling, she met Italian ship captain Gianluigi Aponte, whom she married in 1966. Four years later, with a $200,000 loan, they launched the Mediterranean Shipping Co. SA (MSC) by purchasing a single cargo vessel running between Europe and Africa. That modest venture has since grown into the world’s largest container shipping line. In April 2025, MSC cemented its global influence by brokering a $19 billion port deal with BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners and Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, including two ports controlling access to the Panama Canal.
Rafaela and Gianluigi each hold a 50% stake in MSC, making her one of the most powerful women in global trade. MSC remains family-led, with their children in senior roles as part of its succession strategy. Rafaela also shapes MSC’s cruise operations, overseeing interior design and fleet layout. Despite vast wealth and influence, she remains intensely private, rarely giving interviews while guiding one of the world’s dominant logistics empires.
4. Jacqueline Mars, 85
Jacqueline Mars is the granddaughter of Frank C. Mars, who founded Mars Inc. in 1911. She studied anthropology at Bryn Mawr College, graduating in 1961, before joining the family business. Her academic background shaped her later appreciation for culture and history in philanthropy. Jacqueline worked at Mars for nearly 20 years and served on its board until 2016, helping sustain the family’s close control. Along with her brothers John and the late Forrest Jr., she inherited a one-third stake in the company.
While Mars is one of the world’s largest privately held businesses, known for iconic brands like M&M’s, Snickers, Pedigree and Wrigley, Jacqueline is considered one of the most invisible billionaires. Frugal and reserved, she channels her wealth into philanthropy and cultural causes. A lifelong horse enthusiast, she is a major supporter of U.S. equestrian sports, funding Olympic programs and breeding initiatives to keep American teams internationally competitive. She is also a champion of conservation in rural Virginia, preserving farmland and placing her organic farm under the Land Trust of Virginia.
3. Julia Koch, 62
Julia Koch was born in Indianola, Iowa, and raised in Arkansas by entrepreneurial parents who owned a clothing store. After studying education, she moved to New York and worked in fashion, most notably as an assistant to designer Adolfo, whose signature red suits adorned Nancy Reagan and other icons. The role drew her into Manhattan’s world of wealth, politics and high society, where she gained a reputation for elegance and philanthropy. In 1991 she met David Koch on a blind date that fizzled, but later that year, after David survived a deadly plane crash, their reconnection proved life-changing. Julia left the workforce in 1993, and they married in 1996. When David, co-owner of Koch Industries with his brother Charles, died in 2019, Julia and their three children inherited a 42% stake in the company.
Julia exerts quiet but formidable influence. She sits on the boards of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Through the family foundation, she steers funding toward medical research, cancer treatment and the arts, with less emphasis on the political causes that defined her husband. Intensely private, she rarely grants interviews, yet her impact is unmistakable through her stewardship of one of America’s great fortunes.
2. Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, 71
Eugène Schueller founded L’Oréal SA (OTC: LRLCY), one of the world’s largest cosmetics companies, and his only child, Liliane Bettencourt, became its heir. When Liliane died in 2017, her daughter Françoise inherited the fortune. Their relationship had long been overshadowed by the sensational “Bettencourt Affair,” in which Françoise accused members of her mother’s circle of manipulation, even involving then-President Nicolas Sarkozy. Though estranged for years, they reconciled before Liliane’s death, when she was the world’s richest woman with a net worth of $44.3 billion.
Françoise shunned a CEO role at L’Oréal, instead managing family wealth through Téthys, the holding company. Her conservative approach paid off: As L’Oréal expanded globally and doubled in value, her fortune swelled to over $95 billion, more than twice what she inherited. After nearly 30 years on L’Oréal’s board, including as vice chair since 2020, Françoise announced in April 2025 she would step down, with Téthys taking her seat and her son Jean-Victor Meyers named vice chair. Beyond business, Françoise is an accomplished writer with works spanning Greek mythology to a five-volume biblical commentary. She also heads the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation, one of Europe’s largest philanthropies, funding genetics, neuroscience and cultural projects like the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral.
1. Alice Walton, 75
Walmart Inc. (WMT) was founded by Sam Walton in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962 and grew into the world’s largest retailer. Known for his frugality and aversion to ostentatious giving, Sam died in 1992 when Walmart was worth about $8.6 billion. His estate plan divided ownership equally among his four children, instantly creating America’s wealthiest dynasty while also enabling the Walton Family Foundation to become a force in education reform, conservation and community initiatives.
Alice Walton, Sam’s only daughter, inherited roughly a 6% stake but built a life outside the family business, pursuing finance, art and health care. She worked as an equity analyst and later founded Llama Company in the 1980s, underwriting infrastructure bonds in Arkansas. Walton has always had a great passion for art. In 2011, she founded Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, now home to works by Norman Rockwell, Georgia O’Keeffe and Andy Warhol. In 2020, Alice expanded her vision to health care, founding the non-profit Whole Health Institute to promote prevention, nutrition and lifestyle-based care. She recently established the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine, located near Crystal Bridges, to train physicians in integrative medicine that blends science with holistic approaches.
Alice Walton is more than an heir to Walmart’s fortune. Through Crystal Bridges, her educational programs and her medical school, she is reshaping access to art and health care.
Where Will These Women Take the Power of Generational Wealth?
For decades, these women were cast as passive heirs or background figures, yet their stories reveal something very different. They have been steady builders and quiet forces, guiding empires, directing capital and transforming industries. Now firmly in charge, they are showing how wealth can be deployed in new ways, reimagining health care and education, advancing science and preserving culture for future generations.
Far from symbols of excess, these women represent a new chapter in global wealth. One bold enough to lead, shape industries and extend opportunity through art, health and entrepreneurship. They are rewriting what power looks like in the 21st century.
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The 10 Richest Women in the World originally appeared on usnews.com
