• 8 months ago
Women occupy a small but growing slice of Forbes’ World Billionaires list. This year 369 out of 2,781 billionaires or 13.3% are women, up from 337 in 2023, when women accounted for 12.8% of the list. Together they are worth nearly $1.8 trillion, about $240 billion more than last year.

The world’s richest woman for the fourth consecutive year is L’Oréal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers. Her fortune jumped $19 billion in the past 12 months, putting her net worth at $99.5 billion, the biggest gain of any woman on the 2024 list, but just short for her to become the first woman to crack the swelling ranks of the $100 billion club.

Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthakroontje/2024/04/02/the-richest-women-in-the-world-francoise_bettencourt-meyers-taylor-swift-alice-walton-2024/

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Transcript
00:00 Women occupy a small but growing slice of Forbes' World's Billionaires list.
00:05 There are 369 female billionaires on this year's list, up from 337 in 2023.
00:13 Together, they are worth nearly $1.8 trillion, about $240 billion more than last year.
00:21 Here are the top five richest women on the 2024 Forbes World Billionaires list.
00:27 At number five, Mackenzie Scott.
00:31 The billionaire philanthropist got 4% of Amazon following her 2019 divorce from Jeff Bezos,
00:37 and she pledged to give away most of her wealth soon afterward.
00:41 In March, Scott awarded $640 million to 361 organizations that had applied in a competition for funding.
00:50 Her lifetime giving has climbed to a total of $17.3 billion, made up of a collection of smaller,
00:57 no-strings-attached donations that often come as a surprise to recipients.
01:02 At number four, Jaclyn Mars.
01:05 The Mars, Inc. heir owns the candy and pet food giant along with her brother, John Mars,
01:10 and her late brother, Forrest Jr.'s four daughters.
01:14 She owns iconic brands including M&M's, Snickers, Ben's Original, and Pedigree Dog Food.
01:20 It was founded by her grandfather, Frank C. Mars, who began selling buttercream candy from his kitchen in 1911.
01:28 At number three, Julia Koch and family.
01:32 The widow of David Koch slipped from second to third richest woman this year.
01:36 She and her three children inherited a 42% stake in Koch Industries,
01:41 as businesses ranging from oil refining and medical technology to paper towels.
01:46 At number two, Alice Walton.
01:49 The richest woman in America is $15.6 billion wealthier this year
01:54 due to a 34% jump in Walmart's share price in the last 12 months.
01:59 The heiress is the only daughter of Walmart founder, Sam Walton.
02:03 Unlike her brothers, she's never sat on the retailer's board, instead choosing to focus on art.
02:09 She's known for opening the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in her hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas,
02:15 featuring works from Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell, and Marth Rothko.
02:20 And at number one, Francoise Betancourt Myers.
02:24 The granddaughter of a L'Oreal founder and heir to the family fortune,
02:28 is the world's richest woman for the fourth consecutive year.
02:32 The majority of her wealth is tied to her nearly 35% stake in cosmetic giant L'Oreal Group,
02:38 which has $45 billion in revenue and marquee brands like Maybelline, Kiehl's, and Lancome.
02:44 Betancourt Myers, who inherited her fortune from her mother, Lillianne Betancourt,
02:49 first appeared on Forbes' billionaires list in 2018, worth $42.2 billion.
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