This year, 34 women were added to the 2013 Forbes list of the world’s wealthiest people. Although this is definitely a step up (you go girls), the majority of the list is made up of men. Of the 1,426 people on the new 2013 Forbes list of the World’s Billionaires, a whopping 138 are women. Awesome. To make this momentous occasion even better, only 1 of the 20 richest women in the world didn’t inherit her money from a man.
While the lack of female billionaires is somewhat discouraging, let’s take a moment to celebrate the few women that are on Forbes’ list of the World’s Billionaires. Yes, it’s not ideal that most of these women inherited their fortunes from men, but let’s be honest – they’re still badasses in my book.
Let’s start with number 6 on the list of top 20 female billionaires: Georgina Rinehart. This Australian mining tycoon is the only woman on the list who made her own fortune from scratch with a net worth of $17 billion. And her first name sounds like Regina George (but I’m sure Georgina is much nicer).
Georgina Rinehart
Ranking as the richest woman in the world Liliane Bettencourt holds a net worth of $30 billion. This fierce French female owns over 30% of L’Oreal, which her father founded. At 90-years-old Bettencourt is a successful socialite, businesswoman, and philanthropist. It would be so cool if she was my grandma.
Liliane Bettencourt
Second on the list is our very own U.S. native, Christy Walton. With an estimated net worth of $28.2 billion, Walton inherited her wealth in 2005 when her husband tragically died in a plane crash. Oh, also her husband’s family founded Wal-Mart.
Christy Walton
The rank of third richest woman in the world goes to Christy Walton’s sister-in-law, Alice Walton. Another Wal-Mart heiress, Alice Walton is known as the biggest philanthropist of the 5 Walton siblings, donating over $1.5 million to education initiatives. If I had a net worth of $26.3 billion, I would probably give some money away too.
Alice Walton
Thank you Georgina, Liliane, Christy, Alice, and every other woman on the 2013 Forbes list of the World’s Billionaires. My goal to become a millionaire has now changed to become a billionaire (and the next Beyonce #obviously). Thanks for the inspiration ladies.
Thanks to Forbes
Images via Forbes and Savvy Inspired
