For the second consecutive year, Walmart heiress Alice Walton has claimed the top spot as the world’s richest woman.
She was first named the world’s richest woman in September 2024, after dethroning Loreal heiress, Françoise Bettencourt.
This is according to the latest Forbes World’s Billionaires ranking.
The 134-billion-dollar fortune of Walton shows her dominance among female billionaires, even as global wealth continues to be overwhelmingly male.
Adding to the buzz, global superstar Beyoncé made her debut on the list this year with an estimated net worth of $1 billion.
The representation of women among the world’s wealthiest continues to grow slowly, according to the latest Forbes World’s Billionaires ranking.
Out of 3,428 billionaires listed this year, 481 are women, 14% of the list, up from 406, or 13.4%, last year. While the overall ranking remains heavily male-dominated, the presence of women is steadily increasing.
What they are saying
Following Walton are French L’Oréal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers ($100 billion) and Julia Koch, widow of the late industrialist David Koch, with $81.2 billion.
The list also saw some major reshuffles this year. Chilean mining and beverage heiress Iris Fontbona jumped into fourth place with $52.6 billion, surpassing Candy and pet food heiress Jacqueline Mars ($49.1 billion), who fell to fifth. Fontbona’s rise is particularly notable as she was previously outside the top 10, underscoring the dynamic nature of inherited wealth among women.
- Among the top 10 richest women, the only self-made billionaire is Swiss shipping magnate Rafaela Aponte-Diamant ($44.5 billion), who dropped from fifth to sixth place. Overall, just 122 of the 481 female billionaires made their own fortunes, up slightly from 113 last year. The next richest self-made woman is American roofing magnate Diane Hendricks ($22.3 billion).
- Entertainment and business also contributed fresh faces to the list. Beyoncé, the global music superstar, made her debut this year with a net worth of $1 billion.
Other notable self-made women include Rihanna ($1 billion), Spanx founder Sara Blakely ($1.4 billion), and Taylor Swift ($2 billion). Another newcomer is Luana Lopes Lara, a former ballerina from Brazil who co-founded the prediction market firm Kalshi. At 29, she becomes the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire, taking the title from 31-year-old Scale AI co-founder Lucy Guo ($1.4 billion).
What you should know
Some familiar names dropped out of the top 10 this year. Melinda French Gates ($30.3 billion) and Marilyn Simons ($32.5 billion) were replaced by Iris Fontbona and Zheng Shuliang ($33.2 billion), vice chair of a Chinese aluminum company founded by her late husband.
- These changes highlight the shifts in wealth concentration and the impact of inheritance, investment, and entrepreneurial ventures.
- While most of the world’s richest women inherited their wealth, the rise of self-made billionaires like Beyoncé, Lopes Lara, and Sara Blakely signals that women’s influence in business and culture is expanding.
The list highlights a slow but steady transformation in global wealth dynamics, showing that women are increasingly claiming their space in industries historically dominated by men.
