The US has 97 female billionaires, India among Top 5: Study

According to a new International Women’s Day study from City Index, the United States has the highest number of female billionaires globally, with 97 in total, double that of China, which is in second place with 42. While the US might be home to some of the highest profile male billionaires, 4 out of the 5 richest women in the world, including Walmart heiress Alice Walton, also hail from there.

Germany takes third place with 22 female billionaires. These include German automotive empire heiress Susanne Klatten ($25.6bn) and Nadia Thiele ($6.8 bn), wife of late billionaire businessman Heinz Hermann Thiele, Massimiliana Landini Aleotti & family, as per the study.

In fourth place, the second European country in the top ranking, Italy, is home to 19 female billionaires, only a few less than Germany. Heiress Massimiliana Landini Aleotti ($7.3bn) and iconic designer Miuccia Prada ($5.8bn) head up the list of Italian female billionaires, a testament to the country’s love of food and fashion.

India ranks fifth, with 15 female billionaires. Savitri Jindal heads the list, being the richest woman in India ($20.2 bn), and Rohiqa Cyrus Mistry, wife to Cyrus Mistry, is the second on this list ($7.5bn), as per the study.

Countries with the most female billionaires

The USA dominates the ranking of the individuals with the highest net worth, with 80% of the female billionaires with the highest net worth hailing from America. As the richest woman in the world and Vice Chairperson of L’Oréal, French-born Françoise Bettencourt Meyers takes the top spot with a wealth of $90.2 billion, also ranking 13th in the world out of all male and female billionaires.

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New York-based socialite Julia Koch ($59.8 billion) and Walmart inheritor Alice Walton ($63.7 billion) are in third and second places, respectively, with Walton taking the lead with an extra $ 4 million. Mars heiress Jacqueline Mars comes in fourth place with a cool fortune of $39.5 billion, still a $ 24 million decrease from the wealth of Alice Walton and less than half the wealth of Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, as per the study.

Female billionaires with the highest net worth

Methodology: City Index scraped Forbes’ billionaire list to identify the highest-earning billionaires in the world. This list was then filtered in order to show only female billionaires. Data was collected regarding the number of female billionaires from each country, as well as their net worth and city. Each country was ranked according to the number of female billionaires from that country. The billionaires were also ranked according to their net worth. The data was collected in February 2024 and is accurate as of then.