Wealth

South Africa’s richest women vs the world

Staff Writer

 ·1 Feb 2016

The wealthiest women on the planet are invested in a number of diverse sectors, spanning brewing companies, to mining, to auto manufacturers, to chocolate makers.

Brands under their ownership rank among the most globally recognized including Disney, BMW, Heineken, and L’Oreal, Mars bars and Wal-Mart.

According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires list, the world’s wealthiest woman is 92-year-old Liliane Bettencourt, who owns 33% of L’Oreal, the world’s largest cosmetics maker. The Paris-based company controls Lancome and Garnier.

Bettencourt inherited her father’s stake in 1957.

Alice Louise Walton is an American heiress to the fortune of Wal-Mart Stores. She is the daughter of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, and ranks as the second wealthiest woman in the world,  just ahead of Jacqueline Mars, who with her two brothers, owns Mars Inc, the world’s largest confectioner.

Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of the late Steve Jobs, is the forth richest woman in the world, and is the founder and chair of the Emerson Collective, an organisation that uses entrepreneurship to advance social reform and assist under-resourced students.

Elaine Marshall is fifth on the list, holding an estimated 15% of conglomerate Koch Industries.

The top five wealthiest women are ranked 13th, 17th, 18th, 40th, and 43rd in all categories.

The 10 richest women in the world

De Morgenzen Wine Estate owner, Wendy Appelbaum is listed as South Africa’s richest woman, with a net worth of around $600 million (R8.76 billion).

However, while Appelbaum may be South Africa’s richest woman, she only ranks as the fourth wealthiest woman on the African continent.

Leading the way for women on the continent is Isabel do Santos daughter of Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos.

The 10 richest women in Africa

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