The World’s Youngest Female Billionaires And The Businesses That Got Them Here
Many of the world's richest and most powerful people are women. These self-made billionaires and women who inherited the family business, have an unimaginable amount of power and their names are attached to prestige. From a 20-year-old self-made billionaire to 50-year-old women paving their own paths in this crazy world, these are some of the world's youngest female billionaires. These women have wealth and beauty!
Kylie Jenner Is The Youngest Self-Made Billionaire
With well over 140 million Instagram followers, Kylie Jenner has turned her personal brand into a billion-dollar behemoth. By 20-years-old Forbes magazine declared Jenner to be the youngest self-made billionaire of all time!
Kylie's fortune, while helped along by her solid reality TV career, is largely the product of her incredibly successful cosmetics line, Kylie Cosmetics. Jenner was able to sell over $1 billion worth of her products in just over the first 3 years in business. The reality TV star continues to launch new product lines that are only proving to increase her personal wealth.
Aerin Lauder Joined The Family Business And Expanded Her Own Personal Brand
Being an heiress to a massive cosmetics company isn't a bad way to make a few billion dollars, just ask Aerin Lauder, the 48-year-old heiress to the Estée Lauder fortune. Lauder is the oldest daughter of billionaire Ronald Lauder.
Aerin may have inherited her 16 million shares in the company but she's also not squandering the family fortune. After earning her B.A. at the University of Pennsylvania she jumped into the family business by hiring an image director to position Estée Lauder for the future! She also launched her own fashion and cosmetic brands along with the AERIN furniture line.
Sara Blakely Is Spanx Rich
Sara Blakely at just 45-years-old is already worth $1.14 billion and that money is all self-made. You might not know her name but you've likely heard of her influential product line, Spanx.
Blakely expanded her apparel line to include intimate items, leggings, and pants, and she continues to lead her industry while keeping her buyers loyal to her brand. She's also raising four children which we all know is way harder than running a billion dollar business.
Amanda Hearst Is Now A Market Editor
Amanda Hearst is the great-granddaughter of media mogul William Randolph Hearst and has an estimated net worth of $8.7 billion. Born and raised in New York City, the 34-year-old attended the prestigious Chapin School and Fordham University. She enrolled in Boston College but dropped out to pursue modeling.
Currently, she's the associate market editor at Marie Claire and the founder of an organization called Friends and Finn that prevents mistreatment of puppies and puppy mills. She works with non-profit organizations to promote a positive message about animal rights.
Alexandra Andresen Already Owns Her Family Business At 22-Years-Old
Imagine being just 22-years-old and suddenly your net worth is $1.4 billion. That's what happened when Alexandra Andresen's father transferred 80% of his shares in Ferd Holding to Alexandra and her sister, Katharina.The Oslo, Norway native is the daughter of Norwegian industrialist Johan H. Andresen Jr. and their business Ferd AS is a real estate and finance giant in their home country. Amazing, even with 80% ownership in the company, Johan says he won't pressure his daughter's to take over the family business.
Serra Sabanci Holds Interest In The Family Business
Serra Sabanci might not be a household name in the United States but this 46-year-old businesswoman is well known in Turkey. Her net worth is $1.1 billion which is helped along by her personal stake in Sabanci Holdings, her family business. Serra is no slouch, having graduated with honors from the Department of Economics of Istanbul Bilgi University. Sabanci Holding's is Turkey's largest financial and industrial conglomerate. Sadly, her father was killed by hired assassins in 1996.
Perenna Kei Joined Her Dad's Business And Now Owns Most Of It
28-year-old Perenna Kei is the owner of $1.3 billion in wealth thanks to her ownership in a major real estate company in China. Kei came into her wealth thanks to her father, Ji Haipeng, the chairman and CEO of the family business.
While her dad started the company, Perenna Kei now owns 85% of the firm. She is also the owner of the company Logan Property, which is located in the Cayman Islands. She continues to expand her family business, providing she's not just a trust fund baby.
Ana Lucia de Mattos Barretto Villela
Ana is a 45-year-old who is worth $2 billion. Her great-grandfather founded Itau, which is one of the largest banks in Brazil. The bank merged with Unibanco and together they are known as Itau-Unibanco, the largest non-state bank in Latin America.
Ana is married and keeps a low profile living in Sao Paulo. However, she's the youngest female billionaire in Brazil and has a fortune that has her set for life
Lee Seo-Hyun Is Expanding Her Business With Clean Energy
Cheil Industries is a billion dollar textiles manufacturer and the company is led by 45-year-old Lee Seo-Hyun. She became the leader of the company in 2015 and quickly expanded the company into fashion and chemicals businesses.
In a smart business move, Lee Seo-Hyun then merged her company with Samsung SDI and Samsung Everland. Combined the companies became a leader in the energy storage solutions business. Not bad for a mom with four kids at home!
Dylan Lauren Is Part Of A Fashion Empire
Dylan Lauren, daughter of designer Ralph Lauren, is worth $4.7 billion. She opened the largest candy shop in the world, called Dylan's Candy Bar. While she chose not to follow in her father's footsteps and join the family business, he did let him design her wedding dress when she married Paul Arrouet in 2011.
Although she doesn't work in fashion, Dyland said her father taught her how to be business-savvy. She told Forbes, "Everyone in my family is entrepreneurial. I learned how to be entrepreneurial from my dad and wanted to start my own business."
Lynsi Snyder Is An In-N-Out Heiress
You have to sell a lot of animal style fries to earn the type of cash Lynsi Snyder has in her bank account. When Synder turned 35-years-old she inherited her final stake in her family's business In-N-Out Burger. As an owner of 97% of the fast-food chain, her fortune quickly ballooned to $3 billion.
Snyder's life has been marred by tragedy included losing her father to a drug overdose in 1999 and the death of her uncle in a plane crash just six years earlier. Despite her hardships, she is loved by her employees, probably in large part to the fair wages In-N-Out pays to even their entry-level employees.
Marie Besnier Beauvalot Made A Lot Of Money From Dairy
Marie Besnier Beauvalot and her two brothers inherited Lactalis from their grandfather. The company is the holdings company for the largest dairy products group in the world. The 38-year-old is estimated to have a fortune somewhere in the vicinity of $2.5 billion.
If you've ever eaten Président brie cheese from Western France you've sampled her family's most successful product. This dazzling 38-year-old businesswoman might not be a household name and that's the way she wants it, most often laying low outside of the public spotlight.
Charlotte Casiraghi Is Royalty And Royally Rich
Charlotte Casiraghi's wealth can be measured in two ways, the money the 29-year-old has now and the money she's likely to inherit. The second child of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and daughter of Italian industrialist Stefano Casiraghi, her overall net worth is estimated at $5.7 billion.
Presently, her personal wealth has been estimated between $100 million and $1 billion. She's also well educated with a philosophy degree from Sorbonne University. Throw in the fact that she's eighth in line to the throne of Monaco and the face of Gucci and it's easy to see that she's living a charmed life most of us will never experience.
Athina Onassis: Still A Billionaire?
Athina Onassis makes our list because of her one vast fortune estimated to be in the ballpark of $5 billion. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' granddaughter is known for receiving $800 million from her inheritance on her 18th birthday.
However, media in her home country of Greece have speculated that she may no longer be a billionaire after she was forced to pay her ex-husband $100 million during their divorce. She also lives a lavish lifestyle that some have speculated have quickly caused her fortune to dwindle.
Zhou Qunfei Is The World's Richest Self-Made Woman
Zhou Qunfei is only 48-years-old so there's plenty of time for her $9.8 billion wealth to reach even hire. She is already the second richest women in China and the richest self-made billionaire.
Qunfei founded Lens Technology, a prominent maker of touch screens that works with the likes of Samsung, Apple, and Huawei. She accomplished her miraculous climb to wealth despite losing her father at the age of 5 during a tragic accident while he was at work.
Yvonne Bauer Owns Hundreds Of Successful Businesses
Yvonne Bauer is worth $2.4 billion and she's only 40-year-old. It definitely helps that she is the fifth generation to run her family's business, Bauer Media. The company is a holdings firm that owns and operated more than 50 radio and TV stations, an impressive 500 digital publications, and 600 magazines.
Yvonne isn't just sitting around and collecting inheritance money from the company that was founded in 1875, she took over as CEO in 2010 and during that time her dad transferred 85% of the company to her. She's also raising twins.
Margarita Louis-Dreyfus Went From Orphanage To Billionaire
Margarita Louis-Dreyfus wasn't always the 52-year-old billionaire we see before us today. The businesswoman, now worth $9.5 billion, spent her formative years growing up in a Russian orphanage.
Years later she would fall in love with French billionaire Robert Louis-Dreyfus.When her husband past away he left his company, Margarita, to his widowed wife. The company, a commodity giant in France, operated offices all over the world. Margartia serves as the company's chairman. Fun fact, she is also Julia Louis-Dreyfus' second cousin!
Jane Lauder Joined Her Sister Thanks To A Massive Estee Lauder Fortune
We've already talked about Aerin Lauder's massive fortune and her sister Jane Lauder, 43, is no different with a similar $1.4 billion fortune. the other heiress to the Estée Lauder cosmetics company fortune, Jane also works with the company as global president and general manager of the Estée Lauder, Origins, Ojon, and Darphin brands.
With 20 million shares in the company, she has likely secured her place on our young female billionaire's list for a long time coming.
Sandra Ortega Mera Inherited A Massive Business
50-year-old Sandra Mera is worth $7.3 billion thanks to her 89% ownership is Rosp Corunna and a stake in her father's global fast fashion empire at Inditex.
She first inherited her family's fortune when her mother passed away in 2013 and she's set to inherit even more from her father. Sandra is already the richest women in Spain where she enjoys spending her free time with her husband and their three children.
Yang Huiyan Is Worth More Than $20 Billion
Imagine being only 37-years-old and receiving $25.8 billion from your dad? That's what happened when Yang Huiyan's father transferred his ownership in Country Garden Holdings to his daughter. The company is a massive real estate development company located in Australian.
The company eventually went public and raised $410 million during an initial public offering. Within the first four trading days for the company, Yang increased her personal wealth by a mind-boggling $2.1 billion.
Abigail Pierrepont Johnson Has Investing Money
Abigail Pierrepont Johnson's grandfather founded investing firm Fidelity and his granddaughter took over the business as its CEO while he has remained the company's chairman.
With her inheritance in place, Johnson is worth an estimated $13.7 billion. Much like other heiresses' on our list, Abigail has taken over a large chunk of the family business, owning a 49% stake in Fidelity. Forbes has routinely ranked her in the top 20 most powerful women in business.
Susanne Klatten Is BWM Rich
German heiress Susanne Klatten inherited half of her family's stake in BWM when her parents passed away. The other half of the company went to her brother. Thanks to the company's massive global success, the 56-year-old has an estimated $25.1 billion windfall.
Klatten has also branched out from BWM with her stake in Atlanta AG, a pharmaceutical company that sold for $6 billion. Susanne continued to invest her money wisely which could see her wealth increase quickly in the years to come.
Alannah Weston Is Supermarket Rich
Alannah Weston is a Canadian businesswoman who inherited her wealth from the Weston family fortune. Her family built their windfall by focusing on supermarkets and barkeries throughout Canada.
Alannah decided to work with her family business and moved from creative director for Selfridges to deputy chairman of the entire Selfridges Group. Her family's empire quickly made them the second richest family in all of Canada and her wealth continues to grow.
Vanisha Mittal Bhatia Is Set To Inherit Billions
35-year-old Vanisha Mittal Bhatia is set to inherit a good chunk of her father's $51 billion fortune. The daughter of Lakshmi N. Mittal, her dad is the CEO and chairman of ArcelorMittal, a steelmaking company.
While she may not yet call her father's fortune her own, we already know upon his passing she will receive 35% of the equity in her dad's company, making her worth at least $15 billion. They are the wealthiest family in India.
Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken Is Beer Rich!
Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken, as her name would suggest, is attached to the Heineken beer fortune for which she owns a 25% stake in the company. Her estimated wealth is upwards of $13.4 billion.
Not only is Heineken the third largest brewery in the world, Charlene is also married to a wealthy financier, Michel de Carvalho. She's also no slouch, earning her law degree from the University of Leiden. Beer and smarts, we like her story already.
Sheryl Sandberg Is A Facebook Billionaire
Sheryl Sandberg has amassed a fortune of at least $1.31 billion at the age of 46. Her fortune is the result of her work as the Chief Operating Officer for Facebook. Before she joined the world's largest social network, Sandberg was Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations for Google.
Routinely named as one of the most influential women in the world, she has continued to push for more women in tech leadership roles and is routinely listed as one of the most influential women in the world on many tech and non-tech rankings.
Tory Burch Is A Fashionista Billinoaire
Tory Burch is the CEO, chairman, and head designer for Tory Burch LLC. With a fortune estimated at $1 billion, this 50-year-old power player made our list on her own according. Her art history major from the University of Pennsylvania also proves that our lives can go in some pretty different directions.
Burch has put her money to good use and is also known for his philanthropic work outside of her fashion empire.
Caroline Hagen Kjos Jumped In To Run Her Family's Empire
Norway's Caroline Hagen wasted no time jumping in at 30-years-old to become the young chairman of her company's budget grocery empire. Not only did Hagen take over the company, she now owns 97% of the company's business and is estimated to be worth upwards of $2.8 billion.
Now 35-years-old, she continues to run Canica AS holding. Her father, billionaire Stein Erik Hagen, founded Rimi with his father in the 1970s, making this a truly family run business.
Gina Rinehart Made Her Money In Australian Minerals
Ron D'Raine/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Gina Rinehart has amassed a fortune worth an estimated $6.06 billion thanks to her dad's worth in founding Hancock Prospecting. The company is an Australian mineral extraction firm and exploration company.
Rinehart eventually took over as the company's chairman and inherited 76.6% of the company. Her family currently controls some of the largest land leases located in Western Australia. Apparently, it can really pay to be a miners daughter.
Dona Bertarelli Inherited Billions Then Sailed Around The World
When Dona Bertarelli was 48-years-old her family sold their biotech business for $9 billion and she inherited an estimated $4.5 billion from that sale. Bertarelli didn't just sit back and collect money from her parents, she was actively involved in the family business, serving as Director of Public and Personal affairs.
After Serano was sold she decided to become the fastest women to ever sail around the world and she also started her own business. Talk about living a charmed and active life!
Chu Lam Yiu Is A Self-Made Billionaire In Various Industries
Chu Lam Yiu is a jack-of-all-trades. She founded her company in Hong Kong and quickly expanded from food and beverage flavoring to fragrances and cosmetics and much more. After years of building her business the company, starting in 1996, she took the company public through a "backdoor listing" a decade later.
Her wealth quickly shot up to $2.8 billion, making her one of the most wealthy self-made billionaire women in the world. She's still only 49-years-old at the time of this story.
Meg Whitman Rose Through The Ranks To Become A Billionaire
You don't have to inherit billions from your family or be "self-made" in order to become a billionaire. Meg Whitman graduated from Princeton and then proved herself by working at P&G, Hasbro, and Disney before becoming the President and CEO at eBay.
Under her leadership, eBay grew from 30 employees to more than 15,000 people located all over the global. Shen then took over as CEO of Hewlett-Packard Enterprises and became the Chairwoman for HP Inc. She's now worth an estimated $4 billion. Not too shabby.
Amy Wyss Is The Heir To Her Father's Fortune
Any Wyss is the heir to her father's fortune and Hansjorg Wyss is a Swiss billionaire and Founder of the Wyss Foundation. If she received the full chunk of her family's estate her fully net worth would currently stand at around $1.8 billion.
Like other female billionaires on our list, she is already very active in her family's business, serving on the board of directors and trustees for several organizations and companies. She is also a dual citizen in Switzerland and the United States.
Maggie Magerko Is The Heir To 84 Lumber
Maggie Magerko took over 84 Lumber from her father, Joe Hardy. She then set out to build her family's empire by partnering with big-box retailers in her family's industry which helped skyrocket her fortune which is now estimated to be in the vicinity of $1.3 billion.
After she took over the family business in 1992, Maggie made the smart decision to reach out to Home Depot, Lowes, and others in the space to build strong business relationships that remain in place to this very day.
Maria Asuncion Aramburuzabala Is Modelo Rich, Cheers!
Maria Asuncion is Mexico born-and-raised and inherited her father's stake in the hugely successful beverage brand, Grupo Modelo, makers of the popular Modelo and Corona beer lines.
Her grandfather started the business in 1925 and in 2013 a total of 50% of the business was sold to Anheuser-Busch for $20.1 billion. The 50% sale of the business resulted in a net worth of $5.5 billion for Maria. That's a large enough number to celebrate with a beer.
Shari Arison Is Helping Protect The Environment With Her Fortune
Shari Arison is the wealthiest women in Israel thanks to the inheritance she received from her father's global business, Carnival Corp. The famous cruise line business has secured $3.9 billion for Shari, money she has been putting to great use!
After inheriting the family business, Shari Arison started to invest her money in businesses that help protect the environment. She has also donated millions to nonprofit research organizations that are focused on education and health.
Charlotte Soderstrom Is Fashion Rich
Charlotte Soderstrom is reaping the benefits of the explosion in the "fast fashion" industry. Her grandfather founded H&M in 1947 and the company now has thousands of retail locations around the world.
The 42-year-old billionaire is a major stakeholder in the company where her father still serves as the chairman of the company. Her father is the wealthiest person in Sweden and she is already worth an estimated $1.9 billion.
Julia Oetker Inherited More Than $1 Billion As One Of Eight Children
Julia Oetker's father and grandfather built a baking and pudding powders business so big that even with eight children they each received an inheritance of about $2.1 billion.
The baking business was started way back in 1891 and at 37-years-old Julia and her siblings got in an argument over the direction fo the company and decided to split up their wealth. Oetker and her siblings made a lot of dough from a lot of dough!
Holly Branson Is Following In her Dad's Footsteps
Holly Branson might not register on our list if not for her father's massive wealth. The daughter of Sir Richard Branson, she is set to inherit at least $3.8 billion in the future. It's unlikely her dad's fortune will disappear anytime soon with Branson owning more than 400 companies located around the world.
In the meantime, Holly earned her medical degree in neurology and then started work at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Much like her famous father she also spends a good amount of her time doing humanitarian work.
Laurene Powell Jobs And The Disney Connection
Laurene Powell Jobs is the wife of the late Steve Jobs. At 55-years-old she had an estimated worth of $20.5 billion, mostly thanks to her late husband's sale of Pixar for a share of Disney.
The 55-year-old received is a cunning businesswoman in her won right, having earned a degree from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She has gone on to found the Emerson Collective, a program that assists under-resourced students through entrepreneurship.
