How Many Female Billionaires Are There Right Now
The latest Forbes real time tracking lists 383 female billionaires globally as of the current update, up from 328 a year earlier. This count includes only self made and inherited women with a net worth of one billion dollars or more, based on public market data, company filings, and Forbes estimates. The global total of billionaires is around 2,780, so women now represent roughly 13.8% of the list, a share that has grown steadily over the past decade. For the full ranked list and methodology, see Forbes billionaires page.
The increase is driven by new billionaires in technology, consumer brands, and finance, as well as rising valuations of companies founded or led by women. In the United States alone, the number of female billionaires has more than doubled since 2018, with several new entries each year from sectors such as beauty, retail, and digital platforms. The count fluctuates daily with stock prices, so Forbes updates the list multiple times per year to reflect the latest net worth changes.
Top Female Billionaires by Net Worth and Key Sectors
As of the current Forbes ranking, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers remains the richest woman in the world with a net worth of around 74 billion dollars, inherited from the L'Oreal fortune. MacKenzie Scott follows with roughly 36 billion dollars, largely from her Amazon ex husband's estate and her own philanthropy focused on economic mobility and racial equity. Alice Schwartz, heir to the Bio Rad Laboratories fortune, ranks third with roughly 27 billion dollars, while other top women include Julia Koch, Yang Huiyan, and Gina Rinehart, each with fortunes tied to inherited industrial or real estate empires.
Self made female billionaires are concentrated in technology, consumer brands, and healthcare, with notable examples such as Diane Hendricks, Judy Faulkner, and Sara Blakely. Hendricks co founded ABC Supply and holds a net worth above 16 billion dollars, making her one of the richest self made women in the U.S. Faulkner founded Epic Systems, a major electronic health records company, while Blakely built Spanx into a global shapewear brand. Their companies are private or publicly traded, and their wealth is tracked through Forbes and company filings.
Where Female Billionaires Come From and How the List Is Compiled
Geographically, the United States leads with the most female billionaires, followed by China, Germany, and the United Kingdom, with strong representation also from Australia, Brazil, and France. Many women on the list inherited wealth from family businesses in sectors such as luxury goods, chemicals, mining, and real estate, while others built empires in technology, retail, and healthcare. Forbes uses public market data, private company valuations, regulatory filings, and interviews to estimate net worth, and the list is updated multiple times per year to reflect price swings and new entries.
The criteria for inclusion are a net worth of at least one billion dollars, calculated as of the most recent snapshot of public markets and available private valuations. Forbes also tracks the number of new female billionaires each year, the industries they represent, and how their fortunes change over time. For the latest methodology and real time updates, see Forbes how we rank billionaires.