the 21 self-made women billionaires of 2013

© 2013-2013 Candice Chua www.candicechua.com

The Self-made Women Billionaires of 2013


1. Rosalia Mera

Net worth: $6.1 BnCompany: Zara

Country: Spain

Mera is now the wealthiest self-made woman on the planet, thanks in part to a 50% jump this past year in the value of Inditex, the fashion retailer she co-founded with her ex-husband Amancio Ortega, the world’s third richest man. She dropped out of school at age 11 to work as a seamstress, then helped Ortega make dressing gowns and lingerie in their home. The couple has long been divorced, but she still has a stake in the company, best known for its Zara brand. These days she is also an investor in causes dear to her heart: a marine fish farming group, a company that looks for cancer treatments in products from the ocean, a maker of a fingerprinting system for newborns and London's exclusive Bulgari Hotel. Her Paideia Foundation works to integrate people with physical and mental disabilities, like her son Marcos, into larger society.Getty Images


2. Wu Yajun

Net worth: $4.3 BnCompany: Longfor

Country: China

A former journalist, Wu started property developer Longfor in 1994. She and her team turned it into a national brand and it's now headquartered in Beijing. She was previously China's richest woman, but her divorce last year knocked her from the top spot.

Imaginechina


3. Chan Laiwa

Net worth: $4.1 BnCompany: Fu Wah

Country: China

Chan was born a poor descendant of Chinese royalty but is now one of the self-made female billionaires in the world. She also has a place on the 2012 Forbes Asia list of Asia's most powerful women. Her Fu Wah International Group is one of Beijing's largest real estate developers, having developed nearly 1.5 million square meters of property since its inception in 1988.

Imaginechina


4. Diane Hendricks

Net worth: $3.8 BnCompany: ABC Supply

Country: USA

She started ABC Supply, now the nation's largest roofing, window and siding wholesale distributor, with her husband Kenneth and took over when he died in 2007. In addition to ABC, Hendricks presides over 25 million square feet of commercial property and 25 smaller companies via Hendricks Holdings.

Diane Hendricks


5. Zhang Xin

Net worth: $3.6 BnCompany: Soho China

Country: China

Zhang and her husband Pan Shiyi founded Soho China in Beijing in 1995, and have continued to aggressively buy up real estate in Beijing and Shanghai, transforming the cities' skylines. It is now Beijing’s largest property developer. Prior to founding Soho China, Zhang worked on Wall Street for Goldman Sachs and Travelers Group.

Getty Images


6. Doris Fisher

Net worth: $2.8 BnCompany: The Gap

Country: USA

She started the Gap with her late husband Donald in 1969 as a San Francisco jeans and music store. These days she’s known as a prolific art collector and philanthropist, who has donated $120 million to the KIPP charter school network and Teach For America.

REUTERS


7. Oprah Winfrey

Net worth: $2.8 BnCompany: Harpo

Country: USA

The majority of Oprah's net worth stems from 25 years of her profitable daytime TV show, plus earnings from her Harpo production company, which has a hand in the Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray and Dr. Oz shows.

AP


8. Marion IlitchNet worth: $2.7 BnCompany: Ltttle Caesar’s

Country: USA

$2.7 billion, U.S./PizzaWith her husband Michael, Ilitch built a single pizza shop into the Little Caesar's Pizza chain, which had over $3 billion in revenues last year. (Shares fortune with husband).

Newscom


9. Lynda Resnick

Net worth: $2.2 BnCompany: various

Country: USA

Since the 1970s master marketers Lynda and Stewart Resnick have built or bought companies including POM Wonderful, Fiji Water and flower delivery service Teleflora. They also own pistachio, almond and citrus farms, plus a winery. (Shares fortune with husband).

Getty Images


9. Giuliana Benetton

Net worth: $2.0 BnCompany: Benetton Group

Country: USA

Benetton formed clothing retailer Benetton Group with her siblings in 1965. Giuliana originally knitted sweaters that her brother Luciano would peddle by bicycle; they were sold under a variety of labels before becoming United Colors of Benetton.

AP


11. Peggy Cheng

Net worth: $2.0 BnCompany: Panda Express

Country: USA

Peggy, a Ph.D. in computer science, left a software development career (3M and McDonnell Douglas) to help her husband Andrew launch Panda Express, a fast casual Chinese food restaurant in the second-largest mall in Los Angeles County. She served as CEO from 1998 to 2004; now the couple, who share the $2 billion fortune, run the $1.6 billion (2011 sales) business, which operates 1,500 restaurants, as co-CEOs. (Shares fortune with husband).Panda Express


12. Judy Faulkner

Net worth: $2.0 BnCompany: Epic Systems

Country: USA

Faulkner founded fast-growing electronic health record software company Epic Systems in 1979. The company pulled in $1.5 billion revenues in 2012. More than 40% of the U.S. population will have its medical information stored in an Epic digital medical record by 2013. Clients include many of the country's top hospitals, including the Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins, and Cedars-Sinai. Faulkner largely shuns the press and leads a modest lifestyle.Getty Images


13. He QiaonvNet worth: $2.0 BnCompany: Beijing Orient

Country: China

He Qiaonv chairs Beijing Orient Landscape, one of China's largest landscape and interior design companies. She bought 500,000 shares in Beijing Orient between November and January, and holds almost 54% of its ownership. Husband Tang Kai, the company's vice chairman, holds 11%.

Imaginechina


14. Chu Lam Yiu

Net worth: $1.9 BnCompany: Huabao International Holdings

Country: China

The second youngest self-made female billionaire in the world, she chairs Huabao International Holdings, a giant producer of flavorings in China.

Imaginechina


15. Meg Whitman

Net worth: $1.9 BnCompany: Ebay / HP

Country: USA

Now the chief executive officer of HP, Whitman earned most of her fortune over the decade she spent as CEO of eBay, transforming it from a tiny company to one with $7.7 billion in revenues.

AP


16. Elaine Wynn

Net worth: $1.7 BnCompany: Wynn Las Vegas

Country: USA

With now-ex-husband Steve, she helped found and run a casino empire that reaches from Las Vegas to Macau.

WireImage


17. Xiu Li Hawken

Net worth: $1.5 BnCompany: Renhe Commercial Holdings

Country: China

With her brother, the London resident runs Chinese real estate investor Renhe Commercial Holdings, which as of mid-2012 operated 22 (mostly underground) malls in 15 cities across the country. She is married to Tony Hawken, a teacher.

Imaginechina


18. Elena Baturina

Net worth: $1.1 BnCompany: Inteco

Country: Russia

Wife of Moscow's former mayor made a fortune in construction. She is Russia's wealthiest woman, although she has not been living in the country for the last two years.

Getty Images


19. Yan CheungNet worth: $1.1 BnCompany: Nine Dragons

Country: China

Daughter of a Guangdong Province army officer and eldest of eight children, Yan got her start importing waste paper in Hong Kong in 1985. After a stint running a recycling plant in the U.S., Yan returned to China to launch Nine Dragons (whose name implies "highest fortune") with her husband and brother.

Imaginechina


20. Sara Blakely

Net worth: $1 BnCompany: Spanx

Country: USA

Blakely became the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world in 2012 thanks to the success of Spanx, her reinvention of the girdle. In November 2012 she started rolling out the shapewear brand's first standalone retail stores at upmarket malls on the east coast.

Spanx


21. Tory Burch

Net worth: $1 BnCompany: Tory Burch

Country: USA

Queen of the $200 ballet flat Tory Burch joins this year's Forbes Billionaires list thanks to the incredible growth of her preppy-bohemian womenswear brand, which brought in $800 million in revenues in 2012.

WireImage


Sources

(2013) Forbes.com, “In Photos: The Self-Made Women Billionaires of 2013”, retrieved 15 Dec 2013 from http://www.forbes.com/pictures/emeg45gedi/rosalia-mera-3/

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/emeg45gedi/rosalia-mera-3/




the 21 self-made women billionaires of 2013

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diane hendricks net

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zhang xin net worth

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