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.

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: 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.

Visualizing the Top 50 Most Valuable Global Brands

For many brands, it has been a devastating year to say the least.

Over half of the most valuable global brands have experienced a decline in brand value, a measure that takes financial projections, brand roles in purchase decisions, and strengths against competitors into consideration. But where some have faltered, others have asserted their dominance and stepped up for their customers like never before.

The visualization above showcases the top 50 most valuable global brands from a study conducted by Interbrand, which calculates brand value across hundreds of companies.

As consumers move cautiously into 2021, which brands have they chosen to keep by their side?

The Heavy Hitters

With an eye-watering brand value of $323 billion, Apple is the most valuable global brand in the world, followed closely by Amazon in second place, and Microsoft in third. Average growth in brand value across all three of these tech brands in 2020 was roughly 50%.

In particular, Microsoft—who overtook Google in this year’s ranking—has increased its brand value by $100 billion in just one decade. The tech giant has reinvented itself over the years by focusing not just on how its products impact consumers’ lives, but instead on how they impact the planet. The company is promising to become carbon negative by 2030.

However, other brands that sit at the top of the global brands list have not had the same recent success. Coca-Cola for example sits in sixth place, but has seen a decline in brand value of over $13 billion since 2010.

Here is the full list of the most valuable global brands in 2020:

It is clear that brands that went above and beyond during the COVID-19 pandemic not only benefit from more meaningful connections with their customers; it also pays financially—with brand value for all 100 companies included in the study totaling $2 trillion.

Movers and Shakers

When it comes to 2020’s fastest risers, Amazon, Microsoft, Spotify, and Netflix lead the way.

Not too far behind these brands is PayPal, which saw 38% growth in the last year due to some major strategic pivots. More recently, the brand announced it would be redirecting capital from shareholders and investing in low-level employees who have been essential during the pandemic.

Other brands making their mark in 2020 are Instagram, Tesla, and YouTube—all of which are new to the ranking and are experiencing significant growth in brand value. In fact, electric vehicle company Tesla experienced a 769% increase in market capitalization in just twelve months, making it the world’s most valuable automaker.

The Great Brand Shift

As pharmaceutical companies begin distributing vaccines across the globe, consumer optimism is starting to build again. However, the future of brands remains uncertain.

Only 41 out of 100 most valuable global brands remain in the ranking today from the study conducted in 2000. With almost 60 hugely influential brands falling out of favor in the last two decades, there are several ways in which today’s brands can build economic resilience and thrive in an anxious world:

1. Leadership: The degree to which a brand has a clear purpose that is executed seamlessly across the entire organization.
2. Engagement: Creating meaningful and collaborative relationships with consumers based on the brand’s unique story and reason for being.
3. Relevance: Being omnipresent for customers and delivering on their expectations by going beyond selling products or services.

Although the impacts of 2020 will be felt for years to come, brands that stay ahead of consumers’ changing expectations will be in a better position to weather the storm.