The first place in the ranking is taken by 80-year-old Rafaela Aponte-Diamant from Switzerland, whose fortune is estimated at 38.8 billion USD. Together with her husband, she founded the shipping corporation Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), which is today the largest in the world with a fleet of 900 ships and over 136,000 employees.
The second place is taken by American Diane Hendricks (22.3 billion USD) - co-founder of ABC Supply, one of the largest suppliers of roofing and building materials in the United States. She is one of 18 American women in the top 50, including notable women like Oprah Winfrey and Sheryl Sandberg.
According to Forbes the threshold for entry into the ranking in 2025 is $2.1 billion. There are 18 women from the United States and 18 from China (including Hong Kong). The Asia-Pacific region is the most heavily represented, with 24 participants. 14 women on the list work in technology, which is cited as the most common path to financial success.
The total wealth of the participants on the list is $276 billion - an average of $5.5 billion per woman. Meanwhile, the combined wealth of the 50 richest self-made men is estimated at $3.8 trillion, almost 14 times that. According to Forbes, women make up just 3.5% of the total number of self-made billionaires, but that figure has grown by about 50% since 2017.