Yang Huiyan, vice-chairwoman of China's real estate developer Country Garden Holdings, won the seventh spot on the Forbes richest women list this year, while L'Oreal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers ranked No 1, followed by Alice Walton, heiress to the Walmart fortune, according to a report by Forbes released on April 6.
A total of 328 women made the Forbes billionaires list, up from 241 last year. As a group, the women on the list are worth US$1.53 trillion, a nearly 60 percent increase over the past year, according to Forbes' analysis.
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L'Oreal's Meyers, the world's richest woman, scored the biggest dollar gain among women whose fortune is tied to public stocks. L'Oreal's share price rose nearly 40 percent since last March, adding US$24.7 billion to Bettencourt's net worth.
MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, also became richer, with her fortune growing to US$53 billion due to skyrocketing Amazon stocks she got in the divorce.
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Let's take a look at the world's top 10 richest women in 2021.
No 10 Iris Fontbona & family
Net worth: US$23.3 billion
Source of wealth: Chilean mining company Antofagasta
(PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
No 9 Gina Rinehart
Net worth: US$23.6 billion
Source of wealth: Mining and agriculture company Hancock Prospecting Group
(PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
No 8 Susanne Klatten
Net worth: US$27.7 billion
Source of wealth: BMW
(PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
No 7 Yang Huiyan & family
Net worth: US$29.6 billion
Source of wealth: Real estate developer Country Garden Holdings
(PHOTO / COUNTRY GARDEN)
No 6 Jacqueline Mars
Net worth: US$31.3 billion
Source of wealth: Candy, pet care and food company Mars Incorporated
(PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
No 5 Miriam Adelson
Net worth: US$38.2 billion
Source of wealth: Casino operator Las Vegas Sands
(PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
No 4 Julia Koch & family
Net worth: US$46.4 billion
Source of wealth: Koch Industries
(PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
No 3 MacKenzie Scott
Net worth: US$53 billion
Source of wealth: Amazon
(PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
No 2 Alice Walton
Net Worth: US$61.8 billion
Source of wealth: Retailing giant Walmart
(PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
No 1 Françoise Bettencourt Meyers & family
Net Worth: US$73.6 billion
Source of wealth: Cosmetics giant L'Oréal
(PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
