Forbes’ second annual definitive tally of America’s wealthiest, most successful self-made women includes 60 trailblazers – 10 more than last year – who have crashed ceilings through invention and innovation. These women, who are worth a combined $53 billion, have created some of the nation’s best known brands, such as Gap, Spanx, Proactiv and Vera Bradley. A number of them have also helped build some of the most successful companies in tech, including Facebook, eBay and Google, while still others got rich entertaining millions through their music, books or TV shows.
Other notable women with 10-figure fortunes include Oprah Winfrey, who moves up three spots to number two, thanks in part to her new ties to Weight Watchers. Since picking up a 10% stake in the diet empire and becoming its spokesperson last October, its stock has gained some 90%. Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg also got a big boost. Her fortune is now $1.4 billion, up a third from a year ago thanks to the social network’s strong results, making her one of the year’s biggest gainers. Sandberg, who got that job eight years ago, has helped oversee the company’s market capitalization grow by a staggering $328 billion.
America's Richest Self-Made Women
The youngest person in the ranks is 26-year-old Taylor Swift, who makes her debut at number 60 with a net worth of $250 million, thanks to her 1989 tour, which grossed a quarter of a billion dollars last year. The only twenty-something in the mix, she is one of 13 newcomers. Among the other notable fresh faces are Carolyn Rafaelian, founder of jewelry brand Alex + Ani; actress-turned-entrepreneur Jessica Alba, whose Honest Company was valued by investors at $1.7 billion last year; and Vera Bradley cofounders Patricia Miller and Barbara Bradley Baekgaard. The pair, who were neighbors and friends, got the idea to make colorful bags while at an airport in Atlanta. They each borrowed $250 from their husbands and got to work in Baekgaard’s basement. Today Vera Bradley sells half a billion dollars worth of bags and other accessories a year.
Altogether 16 of the most successful self-made women made their fortunes in fashion or retail, more than any other sector. Technology was second with 13, but six of those were C-Suite executives hired at technology companies in the early days, meaning only seven founded their businesses.
The year’s biggest percentage gainers are dermatologists Kathy Fields and Katie Rodan, who together created acne treatment Proactiv and launched skin-care company Rodan + Fields. Revenues hit $627 million in 2015, up 90% from the previous year, with more than 150,000 independent consultants peddling products. That in turn helped boost their fortunes 72% in the past year to $550 million apiece.
The pair are also two of 25 list members who reside in California, more than three times the number of women in any other state. New York, home to eight women on the list, is a not-so-close second. Another Californian is newcomer Toni Ko, who sold her cosmetics brand NYX to L’Oreal for $500 million. Born in Korea, she is also one of 16 list members born outside the U.S.
One notable Californian not in the ranks is last year’s top ranking female, Elizabeth Holmes. The biotech entrepreneur drops out altogether after Theranos, the blood testing firm she founded, was hit with allegations that its products didn’t work and is now being investigated by several federal agencies. After speaking to a dozen sources, Forbes concluded that the company, once valued by investors at $9 billion, is worth just $800 million, and that she herself won’t see much of anything anytime soon as investors with preferred shares get their money back first. (For more on Holmes, read Matthew Herper's story on her demise.)
Holmes is one of three people from last year’s list who failed to make the cut; the other two, Martine Rothblatt, CEO of United Therapeutics, and Sachiko Kuno, co-founder of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, both just missed the cut due to lower share prices on the day we finalized net worths.
Methodology
To compile net worths, we valued private companies by speaking with an array of outside experts and conservatively comparing the companies with public competitors. In cases in which women started businesses with, and still share with, their husbands, we’ve assigned them half of that combined wealth. We calculated the stakes in public companies using stock prices from May 13. For entertainers, we based our estimates on net lifetime earnings. Real estate, art and other assets were also factored in where applicable. To be eligible for this list, women had to have substantially made their own fortunes and be U.S. citizens or longtime residents. We attempted to vet these numbers with all list entrants. Many cooperated; some didn’t.
Additional editing and reporting by: Clare O’Connor and Kerry A. Dolan
Reporting by: Grace Chung, Zack Greenburg, Natalie Robehmed, Katia Savchuk, Chloe Sorvino, Michela Tindera, Jen Wang, Kate Vinton,
Additional reporting by: Dan Alexander, Deniz Cam, Matt Herper, Zina Moukheiber, Joann Muller, Chase Peterson-Withorn
Acknowlegments:
Special thanks to FactSet, Privco, PitchBook, Real Capital Analytics, VC Experts and Don DePalma, Common Sense Advisory; Craig Johnson, Customer Growth Partners; Euromonitor International; Timothy Landhuis, Staffing Industry Analysts; William Ostrove, Forecast International; Staffing Institute; Randle Reece, Avondale Partners, LLC ; Simeon Siegel, Nomura Securities; Brian Tunick, RBC Capital Markets; WardsAuto; Bridget Weishaar, Morningstar; Stephanie Wissink, Piper Jaffray Cos.
