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.

Alibaba Group co-founder Jack Ma said competition will make the company stronger and the e-commerce giant needs to trust in the power of market forces and innovation, according to an internal memo to commemorate the company’s 25th anniversary.

“Many of Alibaba’s business face challenges and the possibility of being surpassed, but that’s to be expected as no single company can stay at the top forever in any industry,” Ma said in a letter sent to employees late Tuesday, seen by The Wall Street Journal.

Once a darling of Wall Street and the dominant player in China’s e-commerce industry, the tech giant’s growth has slowed amid a weakening Chinese economy and subdued consumer sentiment. Intensifying competition from homegrown upstarts such as PDD Holdings ’ Pinduoduo e-commerce platform and ByteDance’s short-video app Douyin has also pressured Alibaba’s growth momentum.

“Only with competition can we become stronger and allow the industry to remain healthy,” Ma said.

The letter came after Alibaba recently completed a three-year regulatory process in China.

Chinese regulators said in late August that they have completed their monitoring and evaluation of Alibaba after the company was penalized over monopolistic practices in 2021. Over the past three years, the company has been required to submit self-evaluation compliance reports to market regulators.

Ma reiterated Alibaba’s ambition of being a company that can last 102 years. He urged Alibaba’s employees to not flounder in the midst of challenges and competition.

“The reason we’re Alibaba is because we have idealistic beliefs, we trust the future, believe in the market. We believe that only a company that can create real value for society can keep operating for 102 years,” he said.

Ma himself has kept a low profile since late 2020 when financial affiliate Ant Group called off initial public offerings in Hong Kong and Shanghai that had been on track to raise more than $34 billion.

In a separate internal letter in April, he praised Alibaba’s leadership and its restructuring efforts after the company split the group into six independently run companies.

Alibaba recently completed the conversion of its Hong Kong secondary listing into a primary listing, and on Tuesday was added to a scheme allowing investors in mainland China to trade Hong Kong-listed shares.

Alibaba shares fell 1.2% to 80.60 Hong Kong dollars, or equivalent of US$10.34, by midday Wednesday, after rising 4.2% on Tuesday following the Stock Connect inclusion. The company’s shares are up 6.9% so far this year.

The World Has 124 Self-Made Female Billionaires

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

“Only with competition can we become stronger and allow the industry to remain healthy,” Ma said