- There are 406 women on Forbes 2025 World’s Billionaires list
- Nearly two-thirds of the world’s richest women inherited their wealth, while the remaining 113 are self-made billionaires
- Among the top 10 richest women in the world are Alice Walton, Bettencourt Meyers, and Melinda Gates
Forbes' 2025 World’s Billionaires list showed that only 13.4 per cent of the 3,028 billionaires in the world are women.
According to the list, the number of women billionaires in the world increased to 406 from the 369 recorded in 2024, which represented 13.3 per cent of the 2,781 world’s billionaires in 2024.
The list, released on Tuesday, April 1, also shows that nearly two-thirds of the world’s richest women inherited their wealth, while the remaining 113 are self-made billionaires.
The 2025 billionaires list has 2,622 male billionaires, with Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, and Bernard Arnault & family occupying the top five positions.
Notwithstanding the poor number of women on the 2025 world’s billionaires list, some of them stand toe-to-toe against their male counterparts, with the wealthiest woman worth $101 billion.
From Alice Walton, Bettencourt Meyers, and Melinda Gates, TheRadar spotlights 10 of the world’s richest women, nine of whom inherited their wealth, according to Forbes 2025 World’s Billionaires list.
10 richest women on Forbes 2025 World’s Billionaires list
1. Alice Walton
Alice Walton, Walmart heir, is the world’s richest woman as of March 7, 2025, with an estimated $101 billion fortune.
The 75-year-old United States’ citizen and only daughter of Walmart founder, Sam Walton, added $28.7 billion to her fortune this year following a 40 per cent increase in Walmart stock.
She reclaimed the number one spot from Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, L’Oréal heiress, a position both have battled in the last half-decade.
Alice Walton remains passionate about art curation and has committed her life to it. She opened the Crystal Bridges Museum of Art in her hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas, showcasing works by American artists Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell, and Georgia O’Keefe.
2. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers and family
With an estimated net worth of $81.6 billion, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers and family ranked as the second richest woman in the world in 2025.
The 71-year-old L’Oréal heiress fell from the top spot in 2024 to second following a 20 per cent decline in sales, particularly in China.
Bettencourt Meyers made history in June 2024 as the first woman to hit an estimated net worth of $100 billion. She, however, lost a significant part of her wealth by early September, leading to her dethronement as the world’s richest woman.
The billionaire French businesswoman announced her retirement as vice chair on L’Oréal’s board in February 2025, having spent 28 years on the board.
Her son, Jean-Victor Meyers, is slated to take over the position at the end of the year.
3. Julia Koch and family
Julia Koch, the widow of industrialist David Koch, who died in 2019, is the 2025 third richest woman in the world.
With a net worth of $74.2 billion, almost $10 billion from her fortune last year, Julia Koch retains the third spot from last year.
The 62-year-old US citizen and her three children inherited a 42 per cent stake in Koch, Inc. (formerly Koch Industries), the second largest private company in the US, spanning industries such as oil refining, agriculture, and real estate.
4. Jacqueline Mars
An heir to the Mars confectionery fortune, Jacqueline Mars is the fourth richest woman in the world, with a net worth of $42.6 billion.
Mars, aged 85, made her fortune from candy and pet food, a business her grandfather started in 1911 selling butter cream candy from his kitchen.
The business, now Mars Incorporated, owns an array of brands, including M&Ms, Snickers, Wrigley’s, and Pedigree dog food.
Jacqueline Mars served on the board for 20 years and is estimated to share ownership with her brother, John, and her four nieces.
5. Rafela Aponte-Diamant
Switzerland’s Rafaela Aponte-Diamant is the fifth richest woman in the world, with a net worth of $37.7 billion.
The 80-year-old Swiss billionaire is the richest self-made woman on the Forbes list for the third year in a row.
Aponte-Diamant made her fortune from shipping, as she owns 50 per cent stake in Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world’s largest shipping line, a fleet of 900 ships.
She cofounded MSC with her husband in 1970 after meeting him on a boat trip to Capri, Italy.
Her husband, Gianluigi, owns the other half of the company.
6. Savitri Jindal and family
Savitri Jindal is worth $35.5 billion and the sixth richest woman in the world.
Aged 75, Savitri Jindal is the richest matriarch in India, controlling the Jindal Group, an Indian conglomerate that spans sectors including steel, power, cement, and infrastructure.
Savitri and her late husband, Om Prakash Jindal, who died in a helicopter crash in 2005, founded the company, which is also been managed by four of Jindal’s nine children.
7. Abigail Johnson
With a net worth of $32.7 billion, 63-year-old US Abigail Johnson is the seventh richest woman in the world.
Johnson, who is the chairman and CEO of Fidelity Investments, makes most of her fortune from her estimated 28.5 per cent stake in the Boston-based mutual fund company founded by her grandfather in 1946.
She joined the company in 1988 as a full-time analyst after spending her summers working at Fidelity during college.
Johnson became CEO of Fidelity Investments in 2014, when her father, Edward “Ned” Johnson III, who died in 2022, stepped down.
8. Miriam Adelson and family
The eighth richest woman in the world is Miriam Adelson, with a net worth of $32.1 billion.
The 79-year-old Israeli-born US billionaire makes her fortune to running casinos.
Adelson and her family own more than half of Las Vegas Sands, the casino empire behind iconic properties such as the Venetian Macao and the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.
Miriam’s late husband, Sheldon Adelson, who died in 2021, founded the company in 1989.
Miriam Adelson has dedicated much of her medical background as a trained physician and philanthropic efforts toward combating drug addiction.
9. Marilyn Simons and family
The ninth richest woman in the world and one of the newcomers on the top 10 spot is Marilyn Simons, the widow of renowned hedge fund investor Jim Simons, who died in May 2024.
Simons is worth $31 billion. She controls the Simons Foundation, an organisation she co-founded with her husband to support science education and research.
The 74-year-old US citizen has devoted a large part of her career to philanthropic leadership and currently sits on the boards of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and the East Harlem Scholar Academies.
Simons also chairs Stony Brook University’s Women’s Leadership Council, a mentorship programme she founded in 2014 at her alma mater.
10. Melinda French Gates
Melinda French Gates is the second newcomer on the top 10 world’s richest women list.
Gates, the ex-wife of Bill Gates, became $19.3 billion richer this year after Forbes increased its estimate of her 2021 divorce settlement with Bill Gates, which was pegged at $25 billion.
The 60-year-old is worth $30.4 billion and makes her fortune from Microsoft and other investments.
In June 2024, Gates resigned from the Gates Foundation to focus on Pivotal Ventures, a firm she founded to invest in women-led funds and startups.
The foundation also has a philanthropic arm focused on social change and women globally. She has consistently ranked among America’s top philanthropists, as her and Bill Gates’ estimated lifetime giving has reached $47.7 billion.
Notable mentions
Worthy of mention on the 2025 list of the world’s richest women are Oprah Winfrey and Taylor Swift, who are among the 113 self-made wealthiest women in the world.
Oprah Winfrey ranks 1,219 on Forbes' 2025 World’s Billionaires list with a net worth of $3 billion. The 71-year-old made her fortune from her TV show, which she transitioned into a media and business empire after it ran for 25 years until 2011.
Taylor Swift, ranked 2,110 on Forbes' 2025 World’s Billionaires list, is worth $1.6 billion.
The 35-year-old became a billionaire in October 2023 after her Eras Tour raked in an estimated $2 billion, making it the highest-grossing tour of all time.
Dangote, Adenuga, Rabiu, 3 other Nigerians on Forbes 2025 World’s Billionaires list
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that six Nigerians were among the billionaires named in the recently released annual Forbes World’s Billionaires list.
They include Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Abdulsamad Rabiu, Adebayo Ogunlesi, Femi Otedola, and Tope Awotona.
