The World Has 124 Self-Made Female Billionaires

The world has 124 self-made female billionaires, approximately two-thirds from China, according to a report released last Tuesday.

The total number of self-made female billionaires was down from 130 recorded a year ago, and their combined wealth decreased 23% year over year to US$370 billion, according to the report.

China has the largest share of self-made female billionaires, accounting for two thirds of the total, with 78. The U.S. and U.K. came second and third, with 25 and 5, respectively.

“Japan, Germany, France, Canada, and S. Korea are the world’s largest economies without a single self-made woman billionaire,” Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun’s chairman and chief researcher, said in the report. “The 124 known self-made women billionaires come from just 16 countries, meaning that 180-plus countries still do not have a single one.”

The top three self-made female billionaires are all Chinese, including property developer Wu Yajun, with US$17 billion; apparel fibre producer Fan Hongwei, with US$13 billion; and phone accessory assembler Wang Lichun, with US$11 billion.

Hurun’s rankings are based on market data as of Jan. 14.

Only one out of six of the world’s 556 female billionaires made their fortunes on their own and not through inheritance; 80% of self-made women billionaires made their money from listed companies, according to the report.

Healthcare and software services, with 13 each, were the primary industries of the female billionaires. Consumer goods, retail, and energy were the other top sources of their wealth, according to the report.

The youngest self-made female billionaire was Whitney Wolfe Herd, 32. The founder of the dating app Bumble made the list with an estimated net worth of US$1 billion.

Reality TV personality KimKardashian, 41, was estimated to be worth US$2 billion on the back of her beauty brand KKW Beauty. Barbadian singer Rihanna, 34, of Fenty Beauty, joined the list for the first time with US$1 billion.

The rate of inflation in Australia has fallen to 4.9 percent, according to data from the Consumer Price Index. Inflation is down from 5.6 percent in September and a peak of 8.4 percent in December 2022.

The housing, transport and food and non-alcoholic beverages sectors were the strongest contributors to the October increase, which is consistent with trends shown in ABS data from September.

“CPI inflation is often impacted by items with volatile price changes like Automotive fuel, Fruit and vegetables, and Holiday travel,” said acting head of price statistics at the ABS, Leigh Merrington. “It can be helpful to exclude these items from the headline CPI to provide a view of underlying inflation.”

Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose from 4.7 percent in September to 5.3 percent in the 12 months to October, driven by the rising prices of melons and bananas.

Banana prices are trending upwards, contributing to higher food prices overall. Credit: Nigel Killeen/Getty Images

In good news for would-be home builders, new dwelling prices rose 4.7 percent, the lowest annual rise since August 2021, as a result of easing material supply conditions.

While the ABS noted that electricity prices rose 10.1 percent in the year to October, Mr Merrington said it could have been worse, if not for the introduction of the Energy Bill Relief Fund.

“Electricity prices have risen 8.4 per cent since June 2023. Excluding the rebates, Electricity prices would have increased 18.8 per cent over this period,” Mr Merrington said.

The inflation figures come ahead of the final meeting for the year of the RBA Board next Tuesday. The board raised the cash rate by 25 basis points at the November meeting following an increase in the rate of inflation in September.

The World Has 124 Self-Made Female Billionaires

Approximately two-thirds are from China, according to a report.

After appeals to cashed-up Australians to stop spending, there’s a little inflationary relief in sight