15 Richest Self-Made Women in America: Forbes, 2024

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The combined fortunes of America’s most successful female entrepreneurs has reached a record $154 billion, Forbes reported this week, up by about a quarter from 2023.

To qualify for inclusion in Forbes’ list of the 100 richest self-made women, entrants had to have a minimum net worth of $300 million — $75 million more than last year and the highest level since Forbes started tracking the top 100 in 2020. 

Nearly three-fourths of the 100 women on the list started or co-founded a company, while 22 are chief executives or co-chief executives. A record 31 entrants are billionaires, up from 24 last year.

Eleven new faces joined the ranks this year. Among them is singer Katy Perry, whose net worth is an estimated $350 million, mostly due to the sale of her music catalog in September. Another newcomer is money manager Joan Payden, who launched her firm Payden & Rygel in 1983 and remains chief executive at age 92.

Seventy-three members are richer than they were in 2023, while only 10 saw their fortunes decline. Among the latter is Doris Fisher, co-founder of clothing retailer Gap. She donated most of her art collection, which accounted for a significant portion of her fortune, to the Fisher Art Foundation.

Eleven members of last year’s list dropped off the new one, including Anne Wojcicki, co-founder and chief executive of the direct-to-consumer genetic testing company 23andMe. Shares of the Nasdaq-listed company fell 95% from their high in 2021, and it was at risk of being delisted. In April, Wojcicki said she was considering taking the company private, according to Forbes.

California again boasts the largest number of list members as residents. Thirty-nine women live in the Golden State, 11 call Texas home, and nine members live in New York.

To compile net worths, researchers valued individual assets including stakes in public companies using stock prices from May 3. They valued private companies by consulting with outside experts and conservatively comparing them with public ones. Forbes tried to vet numbers with all list entrants. Some cooperated, others did not.

Only women who have substantially made their own fortunes in the U.S. and/or are U.S. citizens or permanent residents are eligible for the list. Although none of the women on the new list inherited wealth, some climbed farther and overcame more obstacles to get into the ranks. To measure just how far some have come, researcher gave women a self-made score of 6 (hired hand) to 10 (rags-to-riches entrepreneur). 

See the gallery for the 15 richest self-made American women, according to Forbes. Ages are as of May 28. 

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