Top Richest Women in the United States
The list of wealthiest women in the US is led by MacKenzie Scott, whose net worth is estimated at around 36 billion dollars as of the latest Forbes real time billionaires data. She gained wealth from her ex husband Jeff Bezos and the Amazon stock she retained after their divorce. Scott is followed by Alice Walton, heir to the Walmart fortune, and Julia Koch, whose wealth is tied to Koch Industries and a stake inherited from her late husband David Koch. These women rank among the top female billionaires globally, with assets measured in billions and diversified across public companies, private stakes, and philanthropy.
Forbes tracks these rankings using public filings, stock prices, and disclosures. The list changes as markets move, but the same names often appear at the top because their wealth is linked to large, stable companies with high market capitalization. You can see the current ranking and detailed net worth estimates on the Forbes billionaires page.
Sources of Wealth and Major Companies
Alice Walton remains the richest woman in the US by inheritance, with a stake in Walmart, the largest retailer in the world by revenue. Walmart trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker WMT, and its market capitalization drives much of her net worth. She also founded the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and invests through Walton Family Holdings, which manages the family stake in Walmart and other ventures.
Julia Koch and her family hold a large interest in Koch Industries, one of the largest privately held companies in the United States, with operations in refining, chemicals, and pipelines. MacKenzie Scott focuses on philanthropy and holds a significant stake in Amazon, the e commerce and cloud computing giant led by Jeff Bezos. Other wealthy women on the list include Elaine Marshall, who controls a stake in Koch Industries through the Marshall family trust, and Laurene Powell Jobs, whose wealth comes from Disney stock and her investment firm Emerson Collective.
How Net Worth Is Calculated and Ranked
Forbes and other trackers estimate net worth by adding the value of public stock holdings, private company stakes, real estate, and other assets, then subtracting debt. For women like Alice Walton and Julia Koch, the main driver is a large block of shares in a single company, which can cause net worth to swing with the stock price. Public companies file detailed financial reports with the SEC, and those filings help analysts verify ownership stakes and valuation.
The SEC EDGAR database provides access to insider filings that show who owns large blocks of shares in public companies. For private companies like Koch Industries, estimates rely on valuations from financial advisors, past funding rounds, and media reports. Rankings are updated frequently, but the underlying data comes from the same public sources, including company filings and stock market data, which are also used by financial platforms that track the wealthiest women in the US.