The first thing that may come to your mind when looking at the Forbes list of the richest women in the world in 2019 is that their condition is almost inherited. However, wealth is not enough to get. It still needs to be managed to preserve and increase, which is impossible if you lack business acumen.
And the richest woman in the world would not be on this list today, if not for her financial instinct and leadership qualities.
10. Kwong Xiu-Hin (Hong Kong): $ 15.1 billion
One of Asia’s richest women controls the conglomerate of Sun Hung Kai Properties, the largest real estate developer in Hong Kong. And it is its main shareholder, concentrating in its hands 26.58% of the shares. From 2008 to 2011, the “old Mrs. Kwong” headed Sun Hung Kai Properties, while a struggle for power was going on between her three sons, which ended with the division of marital status.
Currently, one of Kwong’s sons is in prison for bribery, the second died in 2018, and the third son, Raymond, leads his father’s company.
9. Gina Reinhart (Australia): $ 15.2 billion
The main business of the Reinhart family is an iron ore mining corporation. However, Gina does not have the typical story of a rich heiress, since she did not inherit the wealth of her father, only his debts.
When her father passed away in 1992, Gina remained with a business that was on the verge of bankruptcy, but she managed to successfully solve all the problems. For her and for those who know her story, Gina is a man who made himself. She not only benefited from the terrible financial situation that she had to face, but also visited the top, unattainable for many dollar millionaires. In 2012, she was declared the richest woman in the world. However, in 2019 it takes only 9th place.
8. Iris Fontbona (Chile): $ 15.4 billion
Being the queen of the mining industry in Chile and the matriarch of the country's richest family, Iris received most of her fortune from a copper mining company, which she inherited from her late husband.
However, Chile's mining industry is not the only industry controlled by Iris. She is also responsible for other large enterprises within the Luksic Group, including banking, brewing and shipping companies.
7. Abigail Johnson (USA): $ 15.6 billion
American Abigail Johnson became the most influential woman in the field of finance after she became chairman of Fidelity Investments. This is one of the three largest financial services companies in the United States. It was founded by Abigail's grandfather, Edward S. Johnson II.
Her current work serves as evidence that women can keep their equal in the traditionally male world of finance and investment, and use their position to attract more women to this business. Abigail Johnson has made her company an attractive place for women who want to build a career in the financial sector.
6. Lauren Powell Jobs (USA): $ 18.6 billion
Lauren has always been in the shadow of her late husband, Steve Jobs, and would have preferred to continue in that vein until in 2011 he lost the battle against cancer.
Currently, Lauren is engaged in philanthropy. The largest of its projects is the Emerson Collective, an organization based in Silicon Valley that promotes positive social change. For example, in 2017, a group of investors, including the Emerson Collective, invested $ 10.5 million in a solar-powered Angaza startup.
5. Suzanne Klatten (Germany): $ 21 billion
The German business woman and mother of three currently owns more than 19% of the world's largest luxury car manufacturer BMW, which also owns the Mini Cooper and Rolls-Royce brands. At the same time, Suzanne is only the second largest shareholder of BMW after her brother Stefan Quandt, who owns more than 23% of the company.
Suzanne’s success in increasing capital is not 100% dependent on the family’s core business. Over the years, her business has been concentrated in Altana AG, a pharmaceutical company founded by her grandfather. To this day, she remains the chairman and sole owner of Altana AG, which receives $ 2.5 million per year from drug sales.
4. Yang Huiyian (China): $ 22.1 billion
38-year-old Yang remains the richest woman in China for the seventh consecutive year. And this is not surprising, given that she is the vice chairman and majority shareholder of Country Garden Holdings, which is engaged in the development of elite real estate.
Yang’s rise to multimillionaire Olympus began in 2007, when her father Yang Guoqiang transferred her 70% of the shares and made her one of the main shareholders of Country Garden and the youngest billionaire in Asia.
3. Jacqueline Mars (USA): $ 23.9 billion
One of the richest women in the world lives the sweet life of the heiress of Mars Inc. She currently owns approximately one-third of the company, which coincides with the share owned by her brother.
Besides the fact that Jacqueline is the heiress of the world famous candy corporation, she is also an active philanthropist and owner of some of the most beautiful horses in the world.
2. Alice Walton (USA): $ 44.4 billion
The youngest child and only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton may not be as focused on the family business as her brothers Rob and Jim, but this does not mean that she does not earn billions of dollars. Alice is co-manager of Walton Enterprises, one of the family-owned holding companies, which accounts for 50% of Walmart's largest retailer.
However, Alice's true passion lies in art. Evidence of this is her personal collection of paintings, the cost of which, as reported, is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars, and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which she opened in 2011 in her hometown of Bentoville. Arkansas
1. Francoise Bettancourt-Myers (France): $ 49.3 billion
The heiress of the cosmetic empire L’Oreal has long played an important role in monitoring the condition of the family as the head of their own investment company, as well as the president of the Bettancourt-Schuller Foundation, which supports medical, cultural and humanitarian projects.
Her deceased mother, Liliane Bettencourt, was the richest woman in the world until her death in 2017, and Francoise has managed to stay in the same position.
In addition to being the richest woman in the world in 2019, the heir to the billionth fortune, she is also known as the author of works on Greek mythology and Jewish-Christian relations.
