World's Wealthiest Female Entrepreneurs

Forbes ranks the world's richest self-made ladies
Posted Jun 19, 2025 8:39 AM CDT
Top Richest Women Entrepreneurs
Diane Hendricks speaks on the final night of the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

"It's never been a better time for women entrepreneurs," proclaims Forbes, and its latest ranking seems to bolster that assertion. For the first time, the financial publication has put together a list of the world's 50 wealthiest self-made women, who all together are worth about $276 billion. At the top of the group: Swiss shipping magnate Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, 80, who along with husband Gianluigi Aponte owns the Mediterranean Shipping Company, the world's largest. Looking for American inspiration? Four ladies from the United States have made the top 10. Here's that roster in full, along with their net worth and industry:

  1. Rafaela Aponte-Diamant (Switzerland, shipping; $38.8 billion)
  2. Diane Hendricks (US, building supplies; $22.3 billion)
  3. Zhong Huijuan (China, pharmaceuticals; $15.6 billion)
  4. Zhou Qunfei (Hong Kong, smartphone screens; $10 billion)
  5. Denise Coates (United Kingdom, online gambling; $8.5 billion)
  6. Judy Faulkner (US, health care software; $7.8 billion)
  7. Wang Laichun (Hong Kong, electronics components; $7.2 billion)
  8. Marian Ilitch and family (US, Little Caesars Pizza; $6.9 billion)
  9. Ling Tang (Canada, marketing software/mobile games; $6.6 billion)
  10. Lynda Resnick (US, agriculture; $6.3 billion)
Check out the other women who made Forbes' top 50 here.

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