March 8 2014 is International Woman’s Day and this years theme is ‘Inspiring Change’. This made me think a lot about which women have inspired change in me and also which women have inspired change in others. There are some amazing ladies out there doing amazing things.
Many women I meet personally, are wanting to make a change in themselves and in particular their financial security. Women want to be wealthy, not just the sake of having money, but because wealth brings choices, freedom and security. This got me thinking about wealthy women around the world. Who are these women and how did they make their wealth? If you want to be wealthy, you just do what the wealthy do? Right? There’s nothing like an rags to riches story to inspire change.
A bit of research (with the help of Forbes and BRW) into the world’s (and even Australia’s) richest women showed that most of the richest women either inherited their fortune or had a stake in the families fortune. Women like Gina Rinehart, Christy Walton & Liliane Bettencourt all inherited their wealth from their father or husband or owns shares in the family wealth
Don’t get me wrong these women are still awesome in their own right. Most of them have taken the money and added to it. Managing that amount of money cannot be easy… Ok, it probably could…I’m not a billionaire so I can honestly say I don’t know, but does that mean that unless you have a wealthy family, you are all out of luck? How can we possibly follow these women and hope to achieve what they have…it is an impossible dream!
Back on the research trail I go and this time I narrow my search down to not just the richest women but the richest self made women…and now we’re getting somewhere.
By far the most famous self made Billionaire would have to be Oprah Winfrey and she is certainly one to aspire to. She came from a poor disadvantaged background, and not only worked her butt off to build wealth but she also built a brand and stood up for her rights and lived by her own moral code the whole time. Absolutely a woman to model…we can all aspire to be our own Oprah.
But who else is up there on the list as a female self made Billionaire and how did they make their wealth? As of Dec 2013 the list is as follows:
- Rosalia Mera – Spain, Estimated Wealth – $6.1 Billion, Source of Wealth – Originally Fashion (Zara) but has branched out into other areas
- Wu Yajun – China, Estimated Wealth – $4.3 Billion, Source of Wealth – Real Estate (Development)
- Chan Laiwa – China, Estimated Wealth – $4.1 Billion, Source of Wealth – Real Estate (Commercial Property Development in China)
- Diane Hendricks – United States, Estimated Wealth – $3.8 Billion, Source of Wealth – Construction Material (roofing, Windows, Siding) & Real Estate
- Zhang Xin – China, Estimated Wealth – $3.6 Billion, Source of Wealth – Real Estate (Property Development)
- Oprah Winfrey – United States, Estimated Wealth – $2.8 Billion, Source of Wealth – Television Personality
- Doris Fisher – United States, Estimated Wealth – $2.8 Billion, Source of Wealth – Designer Clothing (Gap, Banana Republic)
- Marion Ilitch – United States, Estimated Wealth – $2.7 Billion, Source of Wealth – Pizza
- Lynda Resnick – United States, Estimated Wealth – $2.2 Billion, Source of Wealth – Investments in several different companies
- Giuliana Benetton – Italy, Estimated Wealth – $2.1 Billion, Source of Wealth – Clothing Company (Benetton)
- Peggy Cerng – United States, Estimated Wealth – $2 Billion, Source of Wealth – Restaurants (Chinese Restaurants)
- Judy Falkner – United States, Estimated Wealth – $2 Billion, Source of Wealth – Healthcare IT
- He Qiaonv – China, Estimated Wealth – $2 Billion, Source of Wealth – Landscape Architecture & Interior Design
- Chu Lam Yiu – Hong Kong, Estimated Wealth – $1.9 Billion, Source of Wealth – Fragrance and Flood Flavourings
- Meg Whitman – US, Estimated Wealth – $1.9 Billion, Source of Wealth – Ebay, Paypal, Skype and other online companies
- Elaine Wynn – United States, Estimated Wealth – $1.7 Billion, Source of Wealth – Casinos
- Xiu Li Hawken – United Kingdom, Estimated Wealth – $1.5 Billion, Source of Wealth – Real Estate (Primarily Chinese Real Estate)
- Elenda Baturina – Russia, Estimated Wealth – $1.1 Billion, Source of Wealth – Construction
- Yan Cheung – China – Estimated Wealth – $1 Billion, Source of Wealth – Paper Recycling
- Sara Blakely – US – Estimated Wealth – $1 Billion, Source of Wealth – Spanx – Became the Youngest Self Made female Billionaire int he World in 2012
- Tory Burch – United States – Estimated Wealth – $1 Billion, Source of Wealth – Fashion
Source: www.forbes.com
You have to admit, this list is pretty impressive. But where are the self made Aussie Women?…Back to Google I go….According to Australian Financial Review the top Australian Self Made Women are:
- Vicky Teoh – Estimated Wealth – $390 Million, Source of Wealth – Internet – TPG Telecom
- Rhonda Wyllie – Estimated Wealth – $346 Million, Source of Wealth – Property (Wyllie Group)
- Nicole Kidman – Estimated Wealth – $320 Million, Source of Wealth – Movies
- Patricia Ilhan – Estimated Wealth – $320 Million, Source of Wealth – Investments – Crazy John
- Charlotte Vidor – Estimated Wealth – $250 Million, Source of Wealth – Property (toga Group)
More Wealth Facts:
Did you know there are approx. 1,426 Billionaires in the world (as of April 2013) and only 24 of them are women who have made their own money.
According to Forbes only 1.7% of all billionaires are self-made women and that only 17% of the women on the list got there without inheriting a big chunk. Plus of those 24, the vast majority of whom are from the U.S. or China, 15 co-founded their businesses with husbands or siblings. Among the 9 who went on their own are Oprah Winfrey and Spanx’s Sara Blakely. In contrast, most male billionaires are entirely self-made.
So if you are like me and you aspire to be on the Forbes Rich list then these are the women to watch. A big dream to strive for…absolutely, but is it impossible…absolutely NOT.
Share in the comments your thoughts on inspring change. Who has inspired change in you?
Until next time…
Chicks and Mortar – Women in Property
