The Forbes Billionaires List reveals who the world's richest people are but also how the wealth of the superrich is distributed among the sexes. According to the list, there are only 14 women among the 100 wealthiest people on the planet in 2023 and only one of them had not made their fortune by inheritance (or divorce) from a wealthy relative or husband. French L'Oreal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers continues to top the list of the world's richest women after having taken the lead in 2021 from Walmart heiress Alice Walton.
With the Bezos divorce finalized in 2019, MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, appeared among the world's richest woman - currently in rank 6. The same year, Julia Koch entered the list after the death of her husband, David Koch - one of the four sons of Koch Industries founder Fred C. Koch. With a net worth of $55 billion, she is currently the third richest women in the world. A newcomer to the list of the world's richest women in 2021 was Miriam Adelson, who inherited a fortune of almost $35 billion from her late husband, Las Vegas Sands CEO and chairman Sheldon Adelson.
Self-made billionaire Rafaela Aponte-Diamant of Switzerland founded shipping company MSC with her husband in 1970 and they both own a 50 percent stake in it. Their expanding business endeavors saw her climb in rank 7 of the world's richest women this year, ahead of Australian mining heiress and executive chairwoman, Gina Rinehadt, who took over the company of her father in 1992 and has also seen its wealth increase.
