Richest Self-Made Women Billionaires Oprah Winfrey is NOT the only self-made female billionaire in the world. In fact, Forbes 2012 billionaires list shows that the highest number of self-made billionaire women come from China,topping the list is Wu Yajun.
Only 14 of the world’s 1,226 billionaires are women who made their own money rather than inherited all or part of it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.Wu Yajun Net worth: $5.7 billion – As of March 2012 Source: Real Estate ,self-made Age:48 , China The richest self-made woman in the world is a former journalist. Wu graduated from the Department of Navigation Engineering of the Northwestern Polytechnical University in 1984, and from 1988 to 1993 worked as a journalist and editor with the China Shirong News Agency. Shares in Wu’s Hong Kong-listed real estate developer Longfor Properties rose by a quarter from a year earlier, and contract sales for 2010 soared 81% from a year earlier to $5 billion. From its roots in Chongqing in central China, Longfor has been expanding in relatively profitable markets in first-tier cites. Longfor listed its shares in Hong Kong Nov. 2009. Wu shares her fortune with her husband, who also holds a stake in the company. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.Rosalia Mera Net worth: $4.5 billion – As of March 2012 Source: Zara, self-made Age: 68 , Spain Marital Status: Divorced , Children: 2 Helped then husband Amancio Ortega make dressing gowns, lingerie in their home. It became one of world’s most successful apparel manufacturers, Inditex, which owns Zara stores. Couple divorced years ago, but Mera still holds 7% stake; at time of IPO, also got $600 million in cash, which she’s invested in a Spanish film production outfit, a marine fish farming group, a company that looks for cancer treatments in compounds found in the sea and a maker of a fingerprinting identification system for newborns. Her Paideia Foundation helps people with physical and mental disabilities. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.Chu Lam Yiu Net worth: $2.8 billion – As of March 2012 Net Worth Last Calculated: March 2011 Source: Flavorings, self-made Age:41 , Hong Kong ,Marital Status: Married Hong Kong tycoon chairs Huabao International, which makes tobacco flavorings for China’s top cigarette makers; also makes fragrances and food flavorings for use in detergents, beverages, dairy products and cosmetics. Founded the company a decade ago and took it public through a reverse takeover. Sold chunk of shares in 2008 and again in October 2009; still owns big stake. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.Zhang Xin Net worth: $2.7 billion – As of March 2012 Source: Real estate, self-made Age:46 , China, Marital Status: Married ,Children: 2 Founded and runs Beijing property developer Soho China with her husband, Pan Shiyi. Last year made the biggest land purchase in Beijing by a non-state-owned company, $586 million for 12 acres. Earned a master’s degree in development economics from Cambridge University in 1992. Got start at international firms Goldman Sachs, Travelers Group. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.Oprah Winfrey Net worth: $2.7 billion – As of March 2012 Net Worth Last Calculated: March 2011 Source: Television, self-made Age: 57 , United States Title: Media Personality ,Organization: The Oprah Winfrey Show Marital Status: Single, Citizenship: United States Education: BA/BS, Tennessee State University Born to single teenage mother, Oprah grew up on grandmother’s farm in Mississippi. Moved to Wisconsin where she says she was a victim of sexual abuse. Talk show debuted in 1986, now a haven for women worldwide. Guests range from celebrities to politicians to victims of abuse. Expanded empire includes broadcasts around world, O magazine, esteemed book club and “favorite things” lists. Daytime talk queen is moved show to a night slot on the new Oprah Winfrey Network cable channel. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.Doris Fisher Net worth: $2.3 billion – As of March 2012 Source: Gap, self-made Age: 80 , United States Founded Gap in 1969 with her late husband Donald, who died in September of cancer at age 81. Originally a San Francisco jeans and music store, Gap empire grew to more than 3,000 locations and expanded to include Banana Republic, Gap Kids and Old Navy. Owns large contemporary art collection. Handed control to sons John, Robert and William in 2004. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.Chan Laiwa Net worth: $12.3 billion – As of March 2012 Source: Real estate, self-made Age: 71 , China Marital Status: Married “Cultural diplomat” of China chairs Fu Wah International Group, one of Beijing’s largest commercial property developers. Fu Wah’s biggest project, Jinbao Street in the city’s Chaoyang district, includes Regent Hotel, the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Ferrari and Lamborghini as partners. Fu Wah launched its first luxury residential project “Mandarin Court” in Beijing last December. The average asking price: $12,000 per square meter. Chan is also curator and founder of China Red Sandalwood Museum located in the Jinbao area. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.Giuliana Benetton Net worth: $2.1 billion – As of March 2012 Source: Benetton, self-made Age: 74 , Italy In 1965 formed Benetton Group with siblings: Luciano, Carlo and Gilberto. The $2.7 billion (sales) clothing company sells brands like United Colors of Benetton, Sisley. Edizione, the family holding company, owns stakes in Atlantia, one of world’s largest toll-road companies, and Autogrill restaurants, which serve customers on highways and in airports around the world. Giuliana originally knitted sweaters that brother Luciano would then peddle by bicycle. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.Xiu Li Hawken Net worth: $1.7 billion – As of March 2012 Source: Real estate, self-made Age: 48 , United Kingdom Marital Status: Married London resident is the main shareholder of Hong Kong-listed Chinese real estate company Renhe Commercial Holdings, which specializes in underground shopping malls. It’s been a rough ride for investors that purchased the company’s IPO in October 2008; shares have tanked by 35%. Renhe in January said it would pay $292 million for an 80% stake in properties in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi. Hawken, who has been chairperson since 2002, assists directors in formulating strategies, according to the company’s prospectus. Hawken holds an undergraduate degree in Chinese literature from Heilongjiang University. Her brother Dai Yongge is the company’s CEO. Dai’s wife Zhang Xingmei is also on Renhe’s board of directors. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10.Meg Whitman Net worth: $1.4 billion – As of March 2012 Source: Ebay, self-made Age: 55 , United States Marital Status: Married ,Children: 2The former eBay chief may have dug $144 million deep into her pocket book for her failed run at the California governor’s seat in November, but her finances–and ranking–are up thanks to her remaining eBay stock’s performance. In addition to her personal coffers Whitman raised $30 million from supporters including ex-Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang in what was the costliest state-level campaign in U.S. history. Joined eBay in 1998; led through Internet boom and bust. Expanded services to Europe, Asia, Latin America. Acquired PayPal, Skype, StubHub. Resigned from boards of eBay, Procter & Gamble and DreamWorks last year to concentrate on gubernatorial race. Earlier in her career, Princeton grad had worked at P&G, Disney and Hasbro. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.Lei Jufang Net worth: $1.2 billion – As of March 2012 Source: Pharmaceuticals, self-made Age: 58 , China The self-made billionaire runs Tibet Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine, which makes ointments, plasters and powders designed to relieve pain and respiratory problems. Shares, first publicly offered in August 2010, trade at 46 times trailing earnings. Has a degree in vacuum physics. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12.Elena Baturina Net worth: $1.1 billion – As of March 2012 Source: Construction, self-made Age: 49 , Russia Marital Status: Married ,Children: 2 Powerful wife of Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov started out as a factory worker, then entered the Moscow Institute of Management. In 1991 started plastic-products company Inteko, which produced furniture and crockery but has since expanded into construction and construction materials. Froze construction on several expensive real estate projects in Moscow as result of 2008 financial crisis. Now her newly formed company, Patriot, is focusing on affordable housing. Helped restore gigantic monument, Worker and Collective Farmer, reinstalled in November 2009, at a cost of $100 million. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.Yan Cheung Net worth: $1 billion – As of March 2012 Source: Paper , self-made Age: 55 ,China Marital Status: Married ,Children: 1 China’s paper queen makes a big comeback: Worth $265 million in October 2008.Daughter of a Guangdong Province army officer and eldest of eight children, Yan got her start importing waste paper in Hong Kong in 1985. After a stint running a recycling plant in the U.S., Yan returned to China to launch Nine Dragons (whose name implies “highest fortune”) with her husband Liu Ming Ching and brother Zhang Chengfei. All three are billionaires; she is chairman. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14. Sara Blakely Net worth: $1 billion – As of March 2012 Source: Spanx, self-made Age: 41 , United States , Residence: Atlanta, GA Marital Status: Married , Children: 1 American businesswoman, Sara Blakely has an estimated net worth of $1 billion as of March 2012 according to Forbes list. Blakely founded Spanx, a multi-million dollar undergarment company. She is the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire. She was 29 when she invested her entire life savings, $5,000, trying to come up with something flattering to wear under her white slacks. Six months later, the one-time Disney World ride greeter and door-to-door fax machine salesperson found her new line of shaping underwear, Spanx, named one of Oprah Winfrey’s Favorite Things. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
