Alice Walton has retained her position as the world’s richest woman for the second consecutive year, according to the latest Forbes World’s Billionaires ranking.
Walton, an heir to the Walmart fortune, tops the list with an estimated $134 billion, reinforcing her dominance among female billionaires.
She first claimed the title in September 2024, overtaking Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, whose family controls the cosmetics giant L’Oréal.
Bettencourt Meyers now ranks second with a fortune of $100 billion, followed by Julia Koch, widow of industrialist David Koch, with $81.2 billion.
Of the 3,428 billionaires on this year’s list, 481 are women, representing 14 percent of the total — up from 406 women, or 13.4 percent, recorded last year.
Iris Fontbona, the Chilean mining and beverage heiress, climbed to fourth place with $52.6 billion, surpassing Jacqueline Mars of the Mars Incorporated fortune, who slipped to fifth with $49.1 billion. Fontbona’s rise is notable, as she was previously outside the top 10.
Among the 10 richest women, the only self-made billionaire is Swiss shipping magnate Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, with $44.5 billion, placing sixth after dropping from fifth last year.
Overall, just 122 of the 481 female billionaires built their fortunes themselves, a slight increase from 113 last year. The next richest self-made woman is American roofing entrepreneur Diane Hendricks, worth $22.3 billion.
In the entertainment industry, global music star Beyoncé made her debut on the billionaire list this year with an estimated $1 billion fortune.
Other notable self-made women include Rihanna ($1 billion), Sara Blakely ($1.4 billion), and Taylor Swift ($2 billion).
Another newcomer is Brazilian entrepreneur Luana Lopes Lara, a former ballerina who co-founded the prediction-market firm Kalshi. At 29, she becomes the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire, taking the title from Lucy Guo, 31, who has a net worth of $1.4 billion.
Meanwhile, Melinda French Gates ($30.3 billion) and Marilyn Simons ($32.5 billion) dropped out of the top 10, replaced by Fontbona and Zheng Shuliang, vice chair of a Chinese aluminium company founded by her late husband, who has a fortune of $33.2 billion.
