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Mapped: The 50 Richest Women in the World in 2021

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Mapped: The 50 Richest Women in the World

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Mapped: The 50 Richest Women in the World in 2021

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According to a recent census by Wealth-X, 11.9% of global billionaires are women. Even at such a minority share, this group still holds massive amounts of wealth.

Using a real-time list of billionaires from Forbes, we examine the net worth of the 50 richest women in the world and which country they’re from.

Where are the World’s Richest Women?

The richest woman in the world, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers and family own 33% of stock in L’Oréal S.A., a French personal care brand. She is also the granddaughter of its founder.

In April 2019, L’Oréal and the Bettencourt Meyers family pledged $226 million (€200 million) towards the repair of the Notre Dame cathedral after its devastating fire.

Following closely behind is Alice Walton of the Walmart empire—also the world’s richest family. Together with her brothers, they own over 50% of the company’s shares. That’s a pretty tidy sum, considering Walmart raked in $524 billion in revenues in their 2020 fiscal year.

Other family ties among the richest women in the world include Jacqueline Mars and her four granddaughters, heiresses to a slice of the Mars Inc. fortune in candy and pet food—and all of them make this list.

RankNameNet Worth ($B)Country
#1Francoise Bettencourt Meyers & family$71.4🇫🇷 France
#2Alice Walton$68.0🇺🇸 United States
#3MacKenzie Scott$54.9🇺🇸 United States
#4Julia Koch & family$44.9🇺🇸 United States
#5Yang Huiyan & family$31.4🇨🇳 China
#6Jacqueline Mars$28.9🇺🇸 United States
#7Susanne Klatten$25.8🇩🇪 Germany
#8Zhong Huijuan$23.5🇨🇳 China
#9Laurene Powell Jobs & family$22.1🇺🇸 United States
#10Iris Fontbona & family$21.0🇨🇱 Chile
#11Zhou Qunfei & family$18.6🇭🇰 Hong Kong
#12Fan Hongwei & family$17.9🇨🇳 China
#13Gina Rinehart$17.4🇦🇺 Australia
#14Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken & family$17.1🇳🇱 Netherlands
#15Wu Yajun$16.3🇨🇳 China
#16Abigail Johnson$15.0🇺🇸 United States
#17Kirsten Rausing$13.5🇸🇪 Sweden
#18Kwong Siu-hing$13.0🇭🇰 Hong Kong
#19Lu Zhongfang$12.7🇨🇳 China
#20Wang Laichun$12.7🇨🇳 China
#21Cheng Xue$10.8🇨🇳 China
#22Massimiliana Landini Aleotti & family$10.6🇮🇹 Italy
#23Denise Coates$9.9🇬🇧 United Kingdom
#24Lam Wai Ying$9.1🇭🇰 Hong Kong
#25Ann Walton Kroenke$9.1🇺🇸 United States
#26Savitri Jindal & family$8.7🇮🇳 India
#27Nancy Walton Laurie$8.2🇺🇸 United States
#28Blair Parry-Okeden$8.2🇺🇸 United States
#29Diane Hendricks$8.0🇺🇸 United States
#30Christy Walton$7.8🇺🇸 United States
#31Zhao Yan$7.8🇨🇳 China
#32Zeng Fangqin$7.6🇨🇳 China
#33Magdalena Martullo-Blocher$7.5🇨🇭 Switzerland
#34Rahel Blocher$7.4🇨🇭 Switzerland
#35Marie-Hélène Habert$7.2🇫🇷 France
#36Pamela Mars$7.2🇺🇸 United States
#37Victoria Mars$7.2🇺🇸 United States
#38Valerie Mars$7.2🇺🇸 United States
#39Marijke Mars$7.2🇺🇸 United States
#40Sandra Ortega Mera$7.1🇪🇸 Spain
#41Antonia Ax:son Johnson & family$7.0🇸🇪 Sweden
#42Sofie Kirk Kristiansen$6.9🇩🇰 Denmark
#43Agnete Kirk Thinggaard$6.9🇩🇰 Denmark
#44Li Haiyan$6.7🇨🇳 China
#45Ronda Stryker$6.6🇺🇸 United States
#46Marie Besnier Beauvalot$6.3🇫🇷 France
#47Zheng Shuliang & family$6.2🇨🇳 China
#48Meg Whitman$5.8🇺🇸 United States
#49Chan Laiwa & family$5.8🇨🇳 China
#50Maria Asuncion Aramburuzabala & family$5.8🇲🇽 Mexico

All data as of January 15, 2021 (9AM PST)

MacKenzie Scott, ranked #3 on the list, was heavily involved in the early days of turning Amazon into an e-commerce behemoth. She was involved in areas from bookkeeping and accounts to negotiating the company’s first freight contract. Her high-profile divorce from Jeff Bezos captured the headlines, notably because she gained control over 4% of Amazon’s outstanding shares.

The total value of these shares? An eye-watering $38.3 billion—propelling her to the status of one of America’s richest people.

However, MacKenzie Scott has more altruistic ventures in mind for this wealth. In 2020, she gave away $5.8 billion towards causes such as climate change and racial equality in just four months, and is a signatory on the Giving Pledge.

[Scott’s near $6 billion donation has] to be one of the biggest annual distributions by a living individual.

—Melissa Berman, CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors

Looking towards the East, Yang Huiyan became the richest woman in Asia after inheriting 70% of shares in the property development company Country Garden Holdings. The company went public in 2007, raising $1.6 billion in its IPO—an amount comparable to Google’s IPO in 2004.

To aid frontline health workers during the pandemic, Country Garden Holdings set up robotic, automated buffet stations to safely serve medical staff in Wuhan, China.

Giving Generously

While the 50 richest women in the world have certainly made progress, the overall tier of billionaires is still very much a boys’ club. One thing that also factors into this could be the way this wealth is spent.

As many female billionaires inherited their wealth, a large share are more inclined to contribute to charitable causes where they can use their money to make an impact. What percentage of billionaires by gender have contributed at least $1 million in donations over the past five years?

Made $1mm in donations over last 5 years (%)

Source of wealth👩 Female philanthropists👨 Male philanthropists
Inherited68%5%
Inherited/Self-made20%28%
Self-made12%67%

Source: Wealth-X

Meanwhile, male billionaires are more likely to donate to charity if they built the wealth themselves—and many companies that fall into this category certainly stepped up during the early days of the COVID-19 crisis.

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United States

Charted: U.S. Median House Prices vs. Income

We chart the ever-widening gap between median incomes and the median price of houses in America, using data from the Federal Reserve from 1984 to 2022.

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A cropped chart with the ever-widening gap between median house prices vs. income in America, using data from the Federal Reserve from 1984 to 2022.

Houses in America Now Cost Six Times the Median Income

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

As of 2023, an American household hoping to buy a median-priced home, needs to make at least $100,000 a year. In some cities, they need to make nearly 3–4x that amount.

The median household income in the country is currently well below that $100,000 threshold. To look at the trends between median incomes and median house prices through the years, we charted their movement using the following datasets data from the Federal Reserve:

Importantly this graphic does not make allowances for actual household disposable income, nor how monthly mortgage payments change depending on the interest rates at the time. Finally, both datasets are in current U.S. dollars, meaning they are not adjusted for inflation.

Timeline: Median House Prices vs. Income in America

In 1984, the median annual income for an American household stood at $22,420, and the median house sales price for the first quarter of the year came in at $78,200. The house sales price-to-income ratio stood at 3.49.

By pure arithmetic, this is the most affordable houses have been in the U.S. since the Federal Reserve began tracking this data, as seen in the table below.

A hidden caveat of course, was inflation: running rampant towards the end of the 70s and the start of the 80s. While it fell significantly in the next five years, in 1984 the 30-year fixed rate was close to 14%, meaning a significant chunk of household income went to interest payments.

DateMedian House
Sales Price
Median Household
Income
Price-to-Income Ratio
1984-01-01$78,200$22,4203.49
1985-01-01$82,800$23,6203.51
1986-01-01$88,000$24,9003.53
1987-01-01$97,900$26,0603.76
1988-01-01$110,000$27,2304.04
1989-01-01$118,000$28,9104.08
1990-01-01$123,900$29,9404.14
1991-01-01$120,000$30,1303.98
1992-01-01$119,500$30,6403.90
1993-01-01$125,000$31,2404.00
1994-01-01$130,000$32,2604.03
1995-01-01$130,000$34,0803.81
1996-01-01$137,000$35,4903.86
1997-01-01$145,000$37,0103.92
1998-01-01$152,200$38,8903.91
1999-01-01$157,400$40,7003.87
2000-01-01$165,300$41,9903.94
2001-01-01$169,800$42,2304.02
2002-01-01$188,700$42,4104.45
2003-01-01$186,000$43,3204.29
2004-01-01$212,700$44,3304.80
2005-01-01$232,500$46,3305.02
2006-01-01$247,700$48,2005.14
2007-01-01$257,400$50,2305.12
2008-01-01$233,900$50,3004.65
2009-01-01$208,400$49,7804.19
2010-01-01$222,900$49,2804.52
2011-01-01$226,900$50,0504.53
2012-01-01$238,400$51,0204.67
2013-01-01$258,400$53,5904.82
2014-01-01$275,200$53,6605.13
2015-01-01$289,200$56,5205.12
2016-01-01$299,800$59,0405.08
2017-01-01$313,100$61,1405.12
2018-01-01$331,800$63,1805.25
2019-01-01$313,000$68,7004.56
2020-01-01$329,000$68,0104.84
2021-01-01$369,800$70,7805.22
2022-01-01$433,100$74,5805.81

Note: The median house sale price listed in this table and in the chart is from the first quarter of each year. As a result the ratio can vary between quarters of each year.

The mid-2000s witnessed an explosive surge in home prices, eventually culminating in a housing bubble and subsequent crash—an influential factor in the 2008 recession. Subprime mortgages played a pivotal role in this scenario, as they were issued to buyers with poor credit and then bundled into seemingly more attractive securities for financial institutions. However, these loans eventually faltered as economic circumstances changed.

In response to the recession and to stimulate economic demand, the Federal Reserve reduced interest rates, consequently lowering mortgage rates.

While this measure aimed to make homeownership more accessible, it also contributed to a significant increase in housing prices in the following years. Additionally, a new generation entering the home-buying market heightened demand. Simultaneously, a scarcity of new construction and a surge in investors and corporations converting housing units into rental properties led to a shortage in supply, exerting upward pressure on prices.

As a result, median house prices are now nearly 6x the median household income in America.

How Does Unaffordable Housing Affect the U.S. Economy?

When housing costs exceed a significant portion of household income, families are forced to cut back on other essential expenditures, dampening consumer spending. Given how expanding housing supply helped drive U.S. economic growth in the 20th century, the current constraints in the country are especially ironic.

Unaffordable housing also stifles mobility, as individuals may be reluctant to relocate for better job opportunities due to housing constraints. On the flip side, many cities are seeing severe labor shortages as many lower-wage workers simply cannot afford to live in the city. Both phenomena affect market efficiency and productivity growth.

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