Richest self-made women in America

Ben Pruchnie // Getty Images – Global rank: #51 – Wealth: $2.1 billion – Age: 92 – Primary company: GAP – Primary industry: Apparel & textile products Doris Fisher co-founded the ubiquitous American clothing retailer Gap, Inc. Fisher founded the brand with her husband when they struggled to find jeans that fit him, following many owners’ pattern of founding companies in response to a need in their own life. Fisher is also a co-founder and major supporter of the Knowledge is Power Program Foundation, which supports public charter schools. #14. Luo Qianqian Rob Bayer // Shutterstock – Global rank: #49 – Wealth: $2.2 billion – Age: 49 – Primary company: Shanda – Primary industry: Investment holding company The co-founder of Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited, originally an online gaming company, is also known as Chrissy Luo. The company has evolved into a large investment group, of which she is also vice chair and president. She and her husband created the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute in 2016 to help advance brain science. #12. Meg Whitman (tie) ROBYN BECK // Getty Images – Global rank: #47 – Wealth: $2.3 billion – Age: 67 – Primary company: eBay – Primary industry: E-commerce Meg Whitman spent a decade at the helm of e-commerce pioneer eBay. During Whitman’s tenure as CEO between 1998 and 2008, she grew the company from $5.7 billion to $8 billion in sales. She was subsequently the CEO of Hewlett-Packard, where she oversaw the company’s split into two entities. #12. Alice N. Schwartz (tie) Smith Collection/Gado // Getty Images – Global rank: #47 – Wealth: $2.3 billion – Age: 97 – Primary company: Bio-Rad Laboratories – Primary industry: Pharmaceuticals Alice Schwartz met her husband, David, while studying for her biochemistry degree at the University of California, Berkeley. They started Bio-Rad Laboratories in a Berkeley Quonset hut in 1952 with $720 and eventually expanded into biological discovery and health care research. She worked as a researcher and member of the board of directors. She stepped down from her board duties in 2022 at age 96. Her son, Norman Schwartz, is now president and CEO of the company. #11. Sheryl Sandberg Scott Eisen // Getty Images – Global rank: #38 – Wealth: $2.5 billion – Age: 54 – Primary company: Facebook – Primary industry: Media Sheryl Sandberg may be best known for writing the controversial bestseller “Lean In,” which advised women to take charge of their own careers and destinies. Still, Sandberg’s fortune didn’t come from book sales but from her early involvement and decades of experience as COO of the social networking giant Facebook. She stepped down from the position in June 2022. #10. Jayshree Ullal SOPA Images // Getty Images – Global rank: #34 – Wealth: $2.7 billion – Age: 62 – Primary company: Arista Networks – Primary industry: Networking solutions Jayshree Ullal has served as president and CEO of the computer networking firm Arista since 2008. She owns 5% of Arista’s stock, which contributes significantly to her net worth. Ullal also sits on the board of Snowflake, a public cloud computing company. #9. Oprah Winfrey