There are 337 women billionaires around the globe, according to\u00a0Forbes<\/em>\u2019 latest ranking of the planet\u2019s richest people, up from 327 in 2022. And they now command a slightly larger sliver of the billionaire population than a year ago (13%, compared to 12% in 2022).<\/p>\n

The richest woman on the planet for the third year straight is L\u2019Or\u00e9al heiress\u00a0Fran\u00e7oise Bettencourt Meyers<\/strong>, who is worth $80.5 billion, a gain of nearly $5 billion from 2022. Meanwhile,\u00a0MacKenzie Scott<\/strong>, whose fortune dropped $19.2 billion in the past year, falls five spots to No. 9, as shares of Amazon\u2013which she got in her 2019 divorce from Jeff Bezos\u2013tumbled. Scott\u2019s enormous charitable giving\u2013totaling more than $14 billion\u2013has pushed her further down the list as well.<\/p>\n

Abigail Johnson\u00a0<\/strong>(estimated net worth: $21.6 billion), who heads mutual fund giant Fidelity, slips out of the top 10 this year, despite slightly adding to her fortune and moving three spots up the worldwide ranks. Taking her spot is\u00a0Rafaela Aponte-Diamant<\/strong>, who is both the 6th richest woman in the world, with a net worth of $31.2 billion, and the highest-ranked self-made female ever, at No. 43 on the global ranks. She splits ownership of Switzerland-based MSC, the world\u2019s largest shipping line, with her husband Gianluigi. The two entered the shipping industry together in 1970 when they purchased a ship with a $200,000 loan. It\u2019s still a family-run business: Gianluigi is executive chairman, their son Diego is president and Rafaela is responsible for decorating ships for the firm\u2019s MSC Cruises division. Forbes<\/em> previously listed the couple together; this year, we split them into separate listings.<\/p>\n

Aponte-Diamont is one of just 96 self-made women on the ranking. Nearly three-quarters of all women billionaires inherited their fortunes. Others among the 28% who are considered self-made include\u00a0Rihanna\u00a0<\/strong>($1.4 billion) and\u00a0Kim Kardashian West<\/strong>\u00a0($1.2 billion).<\/a><\/p>\n

The wealthiest woman newcomer is\u00a0Rohiqa Cyrus Mistry\u00a0<\/strong>($7 billion), the widow of Cyrus Mistry, the former chairman of Indian conglomerate Tata Sons, who died in a car crash in September. Other notable newcomers include\u00a0Annette Lerner<\/strong> ($6.5 billion), the widow of real estate developer and Washington Nationals baseball team owner Ted Lerner (d. February 2023), and\u00a0Amy Adams Strunk<\/strong>\u00a0($1.7 billion), owner of the Tennessee Titans football team.<\/p>\n