00:00 Here's your Forbes daily briefing for Friday, April 5th.
00:05 Today on Forbes, the world's richest self-made women in 2024.
00:11 It's a rare thing to be a woman billionaire.
00:14 Just 369, or 13%, of the 2,781 people on Forbes' 2024 list of the world's billionaires are
00:24 women.
00:25 In that cohort is an even rarer subset, accounting for just 3.6% of the list, women who made
00:32 their ten-figure fortunes themselves.
00:35 This elite group includes entrepreneurs like Spanx's Sarah Blakely, entertainers like Taylor
00:42 Swift, co-founders, including women who started businesses with their husbands, like Panda
00:47 Express' Peggy Cherng, and hired hands, meaning executives brought on to run companies, like
00:54 former Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg.
00:58 Despite their relatively small number, there are more self-made women billionaires this
01:02 year than ever before, and nearly four times the number there were a decade ago.
01:08 One thing that hasn't changed?
01:10 The group is dominated by women from China and the U.S., with 43 Chinese citizens, including
01:15 7 from Hong Kong, and 30 Americans.
01:19 The richest self-made woman for the second year in a row is Raffaella Aponte Diamant
01:24 of Switzerland.
01:26 She co-founded and co-owns MSC, the world's largest shipping line, and clocks in as the
01:32 world's 48th richest person, worth an estimated $33.1 billion.
01:38 We'll have more about her on the Daily Briefing on Sunday.
01:41 The second richest self-made woman is Diane Hendricks of the U.S., who co-founded building
01:46 materials business ABC Supply with her husband and has chaired it since he passed away in
01:52 2007.
01:53 Hendricks, worth an estimated $20.9 billion, is the world's 92nd richest person.
02:01 This year, 15 newcomers joined the ranks of self-made women billionaires, most notably
02:06 pop star Taylor Swift.
02:08 The superstar singer who wowed audiences with her Heiress tour and her concert film last
02:12 year is worth an estimated $1.1 billion.
02:17 Two other tech newcomers got rich in large part due to AI.
02:21 Lisa Su, the CEO of semiconductor firm Advanced Microdevices, with an estimated net worth
02:27 of $1.3 billion, and Canadian tech exec Michelle Zatlin, worth $1.2 billion.
02:34 Zatlin is the co-founder, president, and chief operating officer of cybersecurity and internet
02:39 infrastructure firm Cloudflare, shares of which surged 65% over the past year.
02:46 Fashion mogul Tory Burch, worth $1 billion, returns to the billionaire ranks after an
02:51 eight-year hiatus thanks to a resurgence in revenues of her namesake fashion brand.
02:57 Other notable self-made women billionaires include Oprah Winfrey, worth $2.8 billion;
03:02 Skims co-founder and reality TV star Kim Kardashian, worth $1.7 billion; and singer-turned-beauty
03:08 mogul Rihanna, worth $1.4 billion.
03:13 Rounding out the top five after Aponte Diamant and Hendrix, at number three is Judy Love
03:18 and her family of the U.S., with a net worth of $10.2 billion.
03:24 Love and her husband Tom, who passed away in 2023, started the truck stop and convenience
03:29 store chain Love's Travel Stops and Country Stores in 1964 with a $5,000 loan from Tom's
03:35 parents.
03:36 Today, the company, owned by Love and her four children, has more than 640 locations
03:42 in 42 states and is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.
03:47 At number four is Denise Coates of the U.K., worth $9.5 billion.
03:53 Coates started Bet365 in 2000, launching an online betting site the following year.
03:58 Today, the company says it draws over 90 million customers from around the world.
04:03 She is the majority owner and co-CEO along with her brother and fellow billionaire John
04:08 Coates.
04:09 At number five is Zhang Weiwan of China, who is worth $7.7 billion.
04:15 The former chemistry teacher turned Asia's richest self-made woman, Zhang traded in teaching
04:20 to start Chinese drugmaker Hansu Pharmaceutical in 1995.
04:25 It produces drugs to treat diseases including hepatitis B and certain cancers.
04:30 She took the company public in 2019 and owns nearly two-thirds of it with her daughter.
04:36 For full coverage, check out Natalie Wu's piece on Forbes.com.
04:41 This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.
04:43 Thanks for tuning in.
04:44 [MUSIC PLAYING]
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