Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is the sole Indian in self-made women billionaires list

With a net worth of $1.9 billion, Biocon’s Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is the sole Indian in the self-made women billionaires across the globe and ranks at 36th position out of a total 88, according to the latest Hurun Global Self-Made Women Billionaires List.

Her net worth over the last one year has jumped 90%, according to the survey findings. Only 12 countries managed to produce self-made women billionaires.

Chen Lihua, 76, of FuWah, is the most successful businesswoman in the world and tops this list with a net worth of $7.2 billion. Growing up in poverty, Chen moved to Hong Kong before returning to Beijing to set up her real estate group. China, according to the list, tops the list with 56 women billionaires, followed by the US (15) and UK (8).

“Women from USA and UK have achieved exceptional success from retail and technology sectors. It can be noted that four out of the Top 10 world’s self-made women entrepreneurs are from the above countries. The gender gap among the billionaires are reducing year by year as women are found indulged in every line of business and they continue to explore new avenues of economic participation,” said Anas Rahman Junaid, managing director and chief researcher, Hurun Report India.

Wealth valuations are from the Hurun Global Rich List 2017. When calculating the wealth of the women billionaires, only counted wealth that can be independently verified in a woman's name has been taken into consideration, the report says.

World’s richest

Liliane Bettencourt of L’Oreal is the richest woman in the world, with a net worth at a staggering $37 billion; followed by Alice Walton of Walmart and Jacqueline Mars of Mars, who inherited from her father Forrest Mars Jr. Bettencourt, heiress of French cosmetics giant L’Oreal, joined the company as an apprentice when she was 15. She also shares 13th position with Larry Page of Google in Hurun Global Rich List 2017.

“Of the Top 20 richest women in the world, only two are self-made, with the rest inherited. Interestingly, Laurene Powell Jobs, wife of Steve Jobs, derives most of her wealth from Walt Disney rather than Apple,” the report says.