20 Richest Self-Made Women Around the World

Born in London and raised in New Delhi, billionaire businesswoman Jayshree Ullal first studied at San Francisco State University, where she earned her B.S. in electrical engineering before receiving her master’s at Santa Clara University. Climbing the corporate ranks at various companies in her early professional years, Ullal would eventually be named CEO and President of Arista Networks, a cloud networking company in California, by its founding members in 2008. Named "one of the top five most influential people in the networking industry today" by Forbes for her work at the company, Ullal’s impressive work at Arista, a company which had no revenues and under 50 employees when she first got on board, is her most notable achievement to date.

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Eren Ozman is both the president and majority owner of Sierra Nevada Corp., a private company that specializes in aerospace and defense and is currently a contractor to the United States Department of Defense.

Turkish immigrants Eren Ozman and her husband Fatih took a gamble on their future and staked everything to go after their dreams. Eren sold baklava and cleaning the offices of the SNC building that she and her husband would one day buy in order to pay for her business schooling at the University of Nevada. The pair also put their only asset at the time, their home, up as collateral in order to secure the loan needed to take control of a management buyout of SNC (and its mere 20 employees) in 1994.

Businesswoman and author of the 2018 book, "Courage To Be You: Inspiring Lessons From An Unexpected Journey”, Gail Miller and her husband made their fortune in car dealerships, expanding from owning a single Toyota dealership to 64 dealerships, with operations valued at over $5.1 billion dollars. Gail and her late husband also made a wise investment when they purchased the Utah Jazz for $22 million in 1986 — clearly a good move, as the NBA team is presently worth $1.4 billion.

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The daughter of a microbiology professor and a federal court judge, the bar was set high for would-be billionaire Katie Rodan — and obviously if she made this list, she did not disappoint. Rodan is a dermatologist, entrepreneur and best-selling author. She is the co-creator of skincare line Proactiv and co-founder of skin-care company Rodan + Fields. Rodan also manages a dermatology practice in California.

Co-creator to Proactiv and co-founder of Rodan + Fields, dermatologist and author Kathy Fields first met her would-be fellow billionaire business partner Katie Rodan when the two were students at Stanford University. In 1987, Fields opened her own private dermatology practice and in the 1990’s, she and partner Katie Rodan launched Proactiv acne-treatment systems, eventually founding the anti-aging-focused company Rodan + Fields in 2002.

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Immigrating to the United States from South Korea in 1981, Jin Sook and Do Won Chang brought with them little savings and an educational background that went only as far as high-school.

Along with husband Do Won, Jin Sook Chang started the fashion retail company Forever 21 in 1984 out of a 900-square-foot storefront in Los Angeles with just $11,000 to their name, collectively. Strategizing in turning profits by purchasing inexpensive merchandise from wholesale close-outs, the couple’s sales reached $700,000 in their first year. After the success of that first year, the pair began opening new store locations every 6 months and now have 790 stores in 48 countries.

Technology executive, activist, best-selling author and billionaire Sheryl Sandberg is the chief operating officer of social media giant Facebook – also being the first woman to serve on the board of directors there, having been voted in by the other members – and is also the founder of LeanIn.org, as well as several philanthropic efforts of which Sandberg participates.

Excelling scholastically from an early age, Sandberg would eventually enroll in Harvard College, later earning her MBA with highest honors at Harvard Business School. Working in several impressive roles after her schooling was complete (including Google), Sandberg met Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg at a Christmas party, soon after hiring her on as the COO for Facebook.

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Peggy Cherng grew up in Hong Kong, moving to the United States to complete her schooling, earning her bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from Oregon State University in 1970, following which she obtained her master’s and PHD from Missouri State University. Peggy was working as an engineer and software developer when, in 1982, she left her job to become operations manager at Panda Restaurant Group, which her husband and father-in-law had founded a few years prior. In 1983, the first Panda Express restaurant was opened in the second largest mall in Los Angeles. 1983 was also the year that Peggy would singlehandedly build the business’s operating systems, establishing better company efficiency and the ability to effectively garner feedback from their customers. At present, Panda Express, of which Peggy Cherng is CEO, has 2,200 locations and is valued at $3.5 billion in sales.

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Elaine Wynn married former husband and would-be co-founder Steve Wynn during her college years, earning money by working in her father-in-law’s bingo hall in Maryland prior to the couple moving to Las Vegas. In 1976, the two founded Mirage Resorts, and in 2000, they co-founded Wynn Resorts. Elaine Wynn is known as “the queen of Las Vegas” and is the company’s largest shareholder. Wynn is also known for her philanthropic efforts and support of the arts and education.

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Easily one of the most recognized, respected, well-liked and celebrated billionaires (if not celebrities in general) on our list – and the world at large — Oprah Winfrey is a true pioneer in the industry and a testament to the power of perseverance and hard work. Oprah Winfrey’s childhood was anything but easy, facing issues of domestic violence, poverty, and molestation at the hands of relatives. At a young age, Winfrey would run away from home and suffer several other devastating challenges before ultimately finding her way out via a full scholarship she earned which sent her to Tennessee State University. From there, Winfrey moved on to working in local media, climbing the ranks and catapulting a mega-hit talk show into a mass media empire. For everything Winfrey has earned, she has never forgotten to give back, having donated over $400 million dollars throughout her career.

It would be impossible to list the countless awards, philanthropic efforts and charitable achievements that Oprah Winfrey has amassed in her life so far, but this is one public figure we don’t think we’ll ever get tired of watching. We’re not gushing, you’re gushing.

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A university drop-out, Johnelle Hunt was a stay-at-home mom when she and her late husband J.B. used loans and the profits of the sale of their home to start a business in rice hull packaging, later transitioning into the transport industry, naming the company J.B. Hunt Transport Services. In 1983 their business went public and is today one of the biggest transportation companies in the nation, earning $8.6 billion dollars in sales. Hunt remains the largest shareholder of the company.

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Inspired by the challenge in finding jeans that would fit Doris Fisher’s late husband Don, the couple raised $63,000 in order to open the first Gap store in 1969. The first ever Gap store was located in San Francisco and sold clothing as well as music. Don Fisher’s original idea for the name of the store was “Pants and Discs”, but Doris nixed this in favour of “Gap” which stands for “generation gap”. Doris is also an avid art collector, with the family collection standing at over $1 billion dollars in value.

You can thank Lynda Resnick and her husband for delicious drinks like Pom Wonderful and Fiji Water, which are just a few of the beverages under billionaire Lynda Resnick’s Wonderful Co. brand. Lynda met her husband and future business partner Stewart, a fellow divorcee at the time, in the 1960’s, and Lynda began assisting him with the marketing of his alarm company.

An entrepreneur from the very beginning, Lynda left college life for her own pursuits and, after working briefly at an ad company, started up her own marketing agency at just 19 years old. Of her many business successes, Resnick also aims to give back via her many philanthropic pursuits, including many of which focus on making improvements to the communities located in California’s Central Valley.

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With only a $5,000 loan from her in-laws, future billionaire Judy Love and her husband Tom opened up their first gas station in Watonga, Oklahoma in 1964. On the success of their first location, one gas station evolved into the brand Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores, which now boast 480 stores in 41 states.

Thai Lee grew up in South Korea, moving to the United States to attend high school and later obtaining her MBA from Harvard. Lee worked at Proctor and Gamble, as well as American Express, before eventually becoming co-owner, CEO and president of SHI International Corp. (Software House International). SHI has been reported by Forbes to be the largest woman-owned business in the U.S. She is also known for being the first Korean woman ever to graduate from Harvard Business School.

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Inspired by her parents, who worked in the industry, Judy Faulkner showed interest in the health care field at a young age. After obtaining her bachelor’s in mathematics and her master’s in computer science, Faulkner co-founded Human Services Computing (later to be renamed Epic Systems) out of a basement in Wisconsin using $70,000 invested by friends and family members. Epic Systems is now the record-carrier for over 200 million individuals.

Marian Ilitch met her future husband and business partner on a blind date in 1954. After a year of dating, they married and in 1959 they co-founded Little Caesar’s Pizza, which now nets $4 billion in annual profit. Ilitch also owns the sports team the Detroit Red Wings and MotorCity Casino Hotel.

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In 2008, The New York Times tagged billionaire Meg Whitman as the woman most likely to be the first female president of the United States. It’s not surprising, given Whitman’s impressive scholastic and business background. Whitman graduated Princeton University and Harvard Business School before going on to work at several high-profile companies, including The Walt Disney Company and Hasbro. Her most notable professional accomplishment would be her role at eBay, where she served as the CEO and president from 1998 to 2008. During her tenure there, she oversaw a massive growth and expansion that would catapult the $4 million yearly revenue to $8 billion.

Coming from humble beginnings, Diane Hendricks grew up in Wisconsin, the daughter of dairy farmers. In 1975, while working for a builder selling custom homes, Hendricks met her future husband, Ken, and the two decided to partner up in marriage and business. The Hendricks’ used loans and their lines of credit to start ABC Supply, which sells building materials like roofing, window gutters and siding.

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Originally earning a baffling $16 per month doing factory work, Wu Yajun knows all too well what it means to work your way from the bottom up. In 1993, when she and her then-husband were unable to purchase property, they decided to get proactive and build themselves. Founding Beijing-based development company Longfor Properties, Yajun nurtured her company until it grew to a net worth of $9.9 billion.

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