Women in business are breaking barriers left and right. As of 2020, the world had 100 self-made female billionaires across 16 countries. This year, the figure has grown to an impressive 231 self-made women making the Global Rich List for 2021.
Who are these fearless women, where are they based, and which industries have they harnessed to earn their fortunes?
Chinese Entrepreneurs Leading the Way
Two-thirds of the world’s most successful businesswomen come from China. The country is currently home to 70% of the world’s self-made female billionaires.
Greater China is also the country with the most billionaires overall, followed by the US, India, Germany, and the UK, making up the top 5 countries with the most billionaires.
- Zhong Huijuan hails from China and holds the title of the world’s richest self-made female billionaire. The 60-year-old executive is the founder, CEO and chairperson of Hansoh Pharmaceutical. Her current net worth is net $85 billion.
- Denise Coates founded the online gambling company Bet365, is Britain’s top self-made female billionaire. The 53-year-old has a net worth of $11 billion.
- Diane Hendricks has been named the wealthiest female entrepreneur in the USA. 74-year-old Hendricks founded ABC Supply (now America’s largest roofing and siding distributor) with her husband and has continued to run the company since his death in 2007. She has a net worth of $8 billion.
(Click to enlarge)
Self-Made Working Mums on the Rise
It’s worth noting that Zhong, Hendricks and Coates are not only among the world’s top self-made woman billionaires, all three of them are also working mothers.
The USA’s Whitney Wolfe-Herd recently named the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire at the age of 31, is also a working mum. Earlier this year, the Bumble founder made headlines when she took her company public – and proudly held her one-year-old son on her hip while ringing the virtual Nasdaq opening bell.
Wolfe-Herd is known for offering her Bumble employees benefits like paid parental leave and flexible start times to balance work and family. She’s the latest of just the 22 women ever to take a company public, as well as being the youngest yet.
As today’s workspace becomes more flexible and agile, it’s becoming easier for more women to juggle the dual demands of work and family successfully. However, there are still significant gender pay gaps that need to be addressed in the UK, US and European workplaces.
Will We Ever See a Female Trillionaire?
The world’s richest man is expected to reach trillionaire status 150 times faster than the world’s richest woman.
Women entrepreneurs face more significant financial challenges than their male counterparts, with 35% still dealing with gender bias as they work to raise their business capital. This gender disparity applies across the board, with male billionaires on much higher earning trajectories than their female counterparts.
- With a net worth of $195 billion, industrial engineer and entrepreneur Elon Musk is set to become the world’s first trillionaire within the next decade. Earning almost $432 million per day, Musk is on a trajectory to break the 1 trillion mark in the next 6 years.
- In contrast, L’Oréal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, the wealthiest woman globally, earns roughly 3 million per day, meaning it would take roughly 900 years to reach the same milestone!
Fortunately, things like progressive parental leave, flexible working, childcare facilities in the office and more female representation in the workforce are positive signs that women are more supported in business. However, there’s still a long way to go, with some people questioning whether billionaires should even exist in today’s economic climate.
Looking for Office Space?
We Operate in Some of the World’s Top Cities:
London, New York, San Francisco, Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong,
Search more locations