Step aside Kylie Jenner, Oprah Winfrey is truly a ‘self-made’ billionaire: America’s 11 richest female entrepreneurs ranked
The charged term “self-made” has been the recent source of widespread public outcry.
When Forbes proclaimed Kylie Jenner the youngest “self-made billionaire” in March, many took to Twitter to grumble that the term did not properly reflect that her moneyed upbringing provided her with the platform for success.
In response, Forbes offered its own definition for “self-made”: “Someone who built a company or established a fortune on her own, rather than inheriting some or all of it”.
Forbes now even has a “self-made score”, rated on a scale of one to 10, which approximates a subject’s role in their wealth creation. A score of one would belong to someone like Alice Walton, the Walmart heiress worth US$51.4 billion, who “inherited her fortune but is not working to increase it”. A score of 10 was bestowed on only Oprah Winfrey, someone “self-made who not only grew up poor but also overcame significant obstacles”.
Even with the sliding scoring system, the broad “self-made” definition only applied to 11 women on this year's Forbes 400 list – an annual ranking of America’s 400 richest residents. Jenner, with her estimated net worth of US$1 billion, did not even qualify for the list's US$2.1 billion minimum. She has a self-made score of seven, meaning she “got a head start from wealthy parents and a moneyed background”.
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Most of the women on this list scored an eight (“self-made who came from a middle- or upper-middle-class background”) or a nine (“self-made who came from a largely working-class background; rose from little or nothing”).
The members of the Forbes 400 are worth combined US$2.96 trillion. The self-made women’s club, one of the smallest subsections of the overall list, is worth a collective US$37.2 billion.
Here are the 11 richest self-made women in the US. They are ranked in ascending order of wealth and their net worth estimates as of October 2, 2019.
11. Elaine Wynn has a net worth of US$2.4 billion
Net worth: US$2.4 billion
Source of wealth: Hotels and casinos
Self-made score: 8
Age: 77
Known as the “Queen of Las Vegas”, Elaine Wynn is the largest shareholder of Wynn Resorts. She co-founded the casino and hotel giant with her ex-husband, Steve Wynn.
10. The universally recognisable Oprah Winfrey is worth US$2.6 billion
Net worth: US$2.6 billion
Source of wealth: Television, media
Self-made score: 10
Age: 65
Oprah Winfrey – the media mogul, entrepreneur, and philanthropist – embodies the purest definition of “self-made”. Lady O overcame a difficult childhood to become an Academy Award-nominated actress and the host of a nationally syndicated television show by age 32. She has launched a production company, a magazine and even a television network. She is the only woman in media on this list.
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9. Johnelle Hunt has a net worth of US$2.7 billion thanks to a trucking company
Net worth: US$2.7 billion
Source of wealth: Trucking
Self-made score: 7
Age: 87
Johnelle Hunt co-founded the JB Hunt Company in the 1960s with her late husband. Since his death in 2006, she has further developed Hunt Ventures, looking beyond the trucking industry and exploring real estate and development.
9. Doris Fisher, the founder of Gap, has a net worth of US$2.7 billion
Net worth: US$2.7 billion
Source of wealth: Clothing, retail
Self-made score: 7
Age: 88
Doris Fisher and her late husband founded clothing retailer Gap in San Francisco in 1969. She served as Gap's merchandiser from 1969 to 2003 and was an active board member until 2009. As The Wall Street Journal's Mary M Lane reported in 2015, Fisher has amassed an impressive art collection featuring pieces from iconic artists like Roy Lichtenstein.
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7. Lynda Resnick, the woman behind Pom Wonderful and Fiji Water, is worth US$2.8 billion
Net worth: US$2.8 billion
Source of wealth: Agriculture
Self-made score: 8
Age: 76
Lynda Resnick owns the Wonderful Company with her husband. She runs the global marketing and product development for the brands, which include Pom Wonderful, Wonderful Pistachios and Fiji Water. She has served on the board of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art and has donated millions to climate change research.
6. Judy Love, of Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, has a net worth US$2.9 billion
Net worth: US$2.9 billion
Source of wealth: Petrol stations, retail
Self-made score: 9
Age: 82
Judy Love founded Travel Stops & Country Stores with her husband in Oklahoma, in 1964, after leasing just one gas station. Now the Loves have stores in 41 states. The couple has established an entrepreneurial centre at Oklahoma City University as well as a cancer institute at the city’s St Anthony Hospital.
5. Thai Lee, who helms IT provider SHI, is worth US$3 billion
Net worth: US$3 billion
Source of wealth: IT
Self-made score: 9
Age: 60
IT provider SHI International's President and CEO, Thai Lee, was born in Bangkok but studied in the US. She and her then-husband bought the brand in 1989 for US$1 million and flipped it into a US$10 billion global provider. At 60, she is the youngest woman on this list.
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4. Judy Faulkner digitised medical records and is now worth US$3.6 billion
Net worth: US$3.6 billion
Source of wealth: Medical software
Self-made score: 8
Age: 76
Judy Faulkner, the CEO of Epic Systems, started the medical-record software provider in 1979 in a basement in Wisconsin. Now, the software is so prevalent that more than 250 million patients have an electronic medical record in the system. Faulkner has signed the Giving Pledge, meaning that she intends to donate most of her wealth to charity during her lifetime or in her will.
3. Little Caesars Pizza co-founder, Marian Ilitch, has a net worth of US$3.7 billion
Net worth: US$3.7 billion
Source of wealth: Food, entertainment
Self-made score: 9
Age: 86
Marian Ilitch founded Little Caesars with her late husband in 1959. The pizza chain giant has restaurants in 50 states and its success allowed Ilitch to try her entrepreneurial hand in other industries; she owns the Detroit Red Wings hockey team and the same city’s MotorCity Casino Hotel.
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2. Meg Whitman is worth US$3.8 billion
Net worth: US$3.8 billion
Source of wealth: Technology
Self-made score: 6
Age: 63
Meg Whitman got her start at Procter & Gamble before moving on to Hasbro and then becoming the CEO of eBay. When she joined in 1998, eBay had 30 employees and US$4 million in revenue. When she left in 2008, it had about 15,000 employees and US$8 billion in revenue. Whitman then became the CEO of Hewlett Packard and oversaw its 2015 split into two companies. Now, she is the CEO of Quibi, a yet-to-launch streaming video start-up created by DreamWorks' co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg.
Whitman's self-made score of 6 highlights that she is the only woman on this list who is a “hired or hands-off investor who didn't create the business” from which she profits.
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1. Diane Hendricks is worth US$7 billion
Net worth: US$7 billion
Source of wealth: Roofing
Self-made score: 9
Age: 72
Diane Hendricks made her fortune by founding wholesale roofing distributor ABC Supply in 1982 with her husband. She has been at the helm of the company since his death in 2007 and used her wealth to revitalise Beloit, Wisconsin, where the company is based.
While she might be the richest self-made woman by a margin of US$3.2 billion, she is only the 14th-richest woman in America. The women she trails all inherited their fortunes, showcasing the trend of “dynastic wealth”.
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When Kylie Jenner was called the US’ youngest self-made billionaire, Twitter went nuts. Now Forbes has created a list crowning Oprah Winfrey with the highest ‘self-made score’, but who has earned even more than beloved Lady O?