From Taylor to Ellen, this is the definitive list of the 30 richest self-made women in America. Are you ready for it?
1. Barbra Streisand (Net Worth: $400M)
The legendary multihyphenate Barbra Streisand has solidified her place in the history of entertainment. She has wowed audiences as a singer, actress, and director throughout the course of a six-decade career, winning multiple accolades, such as Oscars, Grammys, and Emmys. Barbra is one of the best-selling musicians of all time, thanks to her strong voice, which has sold over 150 million records worldwide.
2. Serena Williams (Net Worth: $340M)
In every sphere of her life, not only tennis, the renowned Serena is an invincible force. Having won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, she is more than just a champion, she is a trailblazer who has changed the face of women’s tennis and motivated other athletes around the globe. In addition to her incredible athletic success, Serena has developed a strong brand thanks to hefty endorsement deals with industry titans like Wilson and Nike.
3. Reese Witherspoon (Net Worth: $440M)
Hollywood titan Reese Witherspoon has perfected the skill of striking a balance between appeal and business acumen. With her breakthrough performance in Legally Blonde, she rose to fame and became a symbol of female strength in movies. She founded Hello Sunshine, a production business that specializes in female-driven storytelling and has produced hits, including Little Fires Everywhere and Big Little Lies.
4. Kendra Scott (Net Worth: $580M)
Kendra’s sparkling empire began with the jewelry brand she developed. With just $500 and an idea, she started her brand in 2002, starting from modest beginnings in Texas. Her brand is now widely associated with stylish accessories that suit all tastes and price ranges. Beyond bling, she is a formidable philanthropist who donates a portion of her earnings to worthy causes.
5. Sheryl Sanberg (Net Worth: $2.1B)
Sandberg is a well-known figure in the tech sector and an advocate for women in leadership roles, thanks to her work at Google and Facebook (now Meta). Sheryl’s position as COO at Facebook has greatly aided in the expansion and prosperity of the business, and she has accumulated a sizeable fortune via her salary and stock options.
6. Danielle Steel (Net Worth: $600M)
Due to the lasting popularity of her novels, Danielle is one of the best-selling authors in history. She has written an incredible number of romance and drama novels, with over 180 titles to her credit. Her books have sold over 800 million copies worldwide. In addition to winning hearts, her skill as a storyteller has led to the successful adaptation of many of her writings into motion pictures, extending her influence beyond the written word.
7. Kim Kardashian (Net Worth: $1.7B)
From reality TV to a beauty mogul, Kim K has demonstrated that following her requires a full-time financial commitment. Beginning with a reality TV program that elevated over sharing to a kind of art, Kim used her fame to build a diverse business. With her smartphone app, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, she turned selfies into real money. Her wildly popular shapewear line, SKIMS, then helped her bank account grow. However, her cosmetics brand, KKW Beauty, gave her the true glow-up.
8. Celine Dion (Net Worth: $800M)
The Canadian singer has accumulated an amazing fortune as a result of captivating audiences all around the world with her strong voice. She has sold over 200 million records worldwide because to her powerful performances and heartbreaking ballads, making her one of the all-time best-selling musicians. Millions of dollars were made during Celine’s famous Las Vegas residency, which attracted fans from all over the world.
9. Dolly Parton (Net Worth: $650M)
A real multi-hyphenate, Dolly Parton is a country music legend whose skills go well beyond the stage. In addition to providing us with timeless tunes like Jolene and 9 to 5, she has established herself in the film, television, and business industries throughout the course of her more than 60-year career. Her Dollywood theme park is a well-liked tourist attraction that highlights her heritage and brings in a substantial sum of money.
10. Selena Gomez (Net Worth: $1.3B)
Although she is still busy filming Only Murders in the Building and Selena + Chef, Gomez has been singing and acting since her Disney days as a teenager on Wizards of Waverly Place. Her beauty brand, Rare Beauty, has propelled her to the top of yet another industry. She made a name for herself in the fashion and beauty industries through her numerous brand agreements with well-known beauty brands like Louis Vuitton and Pantene throughout the years.
11. Ellen DeGeneres (Net Worth: $450M)
Daytime TV queen Ellen DeGeneres is a formidable force, known for her infectious humor and ability to make everyone feel like a celebrity. She began her career in stand-up comedy and won over fans with her pioneering sitcom Ellen. She then went on to become the adored presenter of her talk show for almost twenty years.
12. Taylor Swift (Net Worth: $1.3B)
In October 2023, Taylor Swift became a member of the Billionaire Club after her groundbreaking Eras Tour sold out stadiums and significantly improved economies around the world. She is the ultimate maestro at everything she does; she has broken records, won honors, brought her ideal football boyfriend into her life, and accumulated an absurd amount of fortune in her brief 35 years on this planet.
13. Meg Whitman (Net Worth: $3.7B)
Whitman is a well-known name in the business world thanks to her remarkably broad and varied career. She began her career as eBay’s CEO in the late 1990s and turned the young auction site into a major force in e-commerce, growing its earnings from $4 million to over $8 billion. She later assumed leadership of Hewlett-Packard, where she steered the tech behemoth through choppy waters while reorganizing and innovating.
14. Shonda Rhimes (Net Worth: $250M)
TV tycoon Shonda Rhimes has enthralled viewers all around the world with her storytelling skills! As the creator of renowned television shows like Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy, she possesses a special ability to craft engrossing characters and captivating stories that keep audiences on the edge of their seats. She has grown her empire to include the popular series Bridgerton, which swept the globe with its innovative approach to period dramas, and to the success of her production business, Shondaland.
15. Lynda Resnick (Net Worth: $6.3B)
The ultimate consumer goods queen, Lynda Resnick, has built a billion-dollar corporation out of nature’s abundance. In her role as vice chair and co-owner of the Wonderful Company, she has produced well-known products, including FIJI Water and POM Wonderful. In the fiercely competitive food and beverage sector, Lynda has effectively established a niche for herself, thanks to her marketing prowess and keen sense of quality.
16. Thai Lee (Net Worth: $7B)
Lee has the ability to use her influence like a well-tuned machine, and the IT industry is no match. Since its founding in 1989, she has served as the CEO and co-founder of SHI International Corp., growing it into one of the biggest minority-owned companies in the United States. SHI is now a leading supplier of IT products and solutions, serving a wide range of customers thanks to Thai’s talent for spotting technological trends and her strategic alliances.
17. Sara Blakely (Net Worth: $1.3B)
Blakely hacked her way into entrepreneurial history by taking scissors to her tights after a stressful experience with poorly fitting pantyhose. Her invention, Spanx, transformed the underwear market. She personally staffed the Spanx hotline, utilized her own derriere as a before-and-after model, and cold-called her way into major retailers. In order to develop a more reasonably priced brand, she eventually collaborated with Target on the Assets by Sara Blakely collection.
18. Oprah Winfrey (Net Worth: $3B)
Winfrey’s diverse career has allowed her to create an incredible empire. For 25 years, her renowned talk show, ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’, drew sizable audiences and brought in a sizable sum of money. Using her power, she founded Harpo Productions, a media firm that makes movies, TV series, and books. Winfrey also started a well-known monthly magazine called O, The Oprah Magazine.
19. Madonna (Net Worth: $1.2B)
Madonna’s riches have mostly come from her music career, which includes multiple successful global tours and a lengthy catalog that dates back to the 1980s. Her impact goes beyond only her music; she co-founded the Hard Candy Fitness chain of fitness centers, owns her skincare brand, MDNA Skin, and operates her own record label, Maverick Records, as well as a film company, Siren Films.
20. Judith Faulkner (Net Worth: $7.7B)
IT behemoth Judy Faulkner is revolutionizing healthcare with her creative code. She was the driving force behind the creation of electronic health records (EHR), which have revolutionized the way medical professionals handle patient data, as the founder and CEO of Epic Systems Corporation. Judy started Epic in her basement in 1979 and has since grown it into a billion-dollar business that serves more than 250 million patients worldwide.
21. Rihanna (Net Worth: $1.4B)
Savage X Fenty and Fenty Beauty were redeemed by bad girl RiRi. She was the youngest person on the list when she joined the Billionaire Club in 2022. Her shade selection is the only thing more varied than her discography of songs; in fact, the reason Fenty Beauty has been so popular is because it includes a wide variety of skin tones.
22. Nora Roberts (Net Worth: $480M)
Literary superstar Nora Roberts has rightfully become one of the richest authors in the world because to her best-selling romance novels. She has produced a large universe full of fascinating characters and engaging tales, with over 200 published works and over 400 million copies sold. Her novels are captivating page-turners because they frequently combine romance and suspense.
23. Diane Hendricks (Net Worth: $21.9B)
Beginning with her late husband, Ken, in 1982, Diane co-founded and served as chairman of ABC Supply Co., growing a small family firm into the largest wholesale distributor of siding and roofing in the United States.
She has created waves in the real estate industry in addition to construction, demonstrating her ability to recognize profitable prospects.
24. Kylie Jenner (Net Worth: $710M)
Kylie Cosmetics, a beauty brand she started in 2015 for people who wished to mimic her enormous pout, is her most well-known business endeavor. Furthermore, despite her being featured on Forbes’ cover as a ‘self-made billionaire’, the magazine eventually acknowledged in 2019 that she had not achieved B-status. The magazine also came under fire for calling the beauty mogul ‘self-made’ despite the fact that she comes from a well-known and rich family and has appeared on TV shows since before she reached adolescence.
25. Marissa Mayer (Net Worth: $970M)
Mayer became Google’s first female engineer and, later, its first female executive when she joined the company in 1999 after graduating from Stanford. Mayer led the creation of Google’s user interface and search algorithms, which propelled the business’s explosive expansion. Her position as a tech titan was further cemented in 2012 when she accepted the job of running Yahoo.
26. Huda Kattan (Net Worth: $610M)
The U.S.-born founder of Dubai-based Huda Beauty is now worth at least $610 million and is America’s No. 37 richest self-made woman. Famous for its high-quality, long-lasting products, Huda Beauty promotes innovation and inclusivity for all skin tones. In 2019, this company grossed over $200 million.
27. Beyoncé Knowles (Net Worth: $400M)
Beyoncé has a net worth of $760 million as of May 2024, according to Forbes. The star’s ‘Renaissance World Tour’ earned $579 million across Europe and the U.S. So, this tour became the highest-grossing tour by a Black artist, a record Beyoncé previously set with her ‘Formation World Tour. ‘
28. Katrina Lake (Net Worth: $380M)
Katrina is a businesswoman and the founder and interim CEO of Stitch Fix, a fashion-based subscription service. In 2017, Lake became the youngest woman to take a company public at age 34 and was the only woman in 2017 to lead an initial public offering in technology. She was surpassed by Whitney Wolfe Herd in 2021, who took Bumble public at age 31. That same year, Forbes named Lake one of America’s richest self-made women.
29. Neha Narkhede (Net worth: $360M)
Confluent, a data streaming software company that raised $9.1 billion in 2021, was co-founded by Neha Narkhede. Neha went on to co-found Oscilar, a no-code platform that assists businesses in managing and identifying fraud. Neha co-founded Apache Kafka while working as a principal software engineer on LinkedIn prior to founding these two businesses.
30. Whitney Wolfe Herd (Net Worth: $290M)
After bringing Bumble public in 2021, Wolfe Herd became the youngest female billionaire in history. Forbes rates her net worth at over $510 million as of May 2023.
