How many billionaire women are self made?

Of the 1125 billionaires in the world only ninety nine of these are women and out of those, only ten are self made women. The rest of the billionaire women on the Forbes list, either inherited money or inherited businesses.

Less well known self made billionaire women

The Youngest self-made female billionaire in the world is Hong Kong citizen Chu Lam Yiu.  She still  runs  Huabao International,  the company she started a decade ago.

The Chinese billionaire Zhang Xin, now in her 40's started out working in a factory.  She gained a master's degree at Cambridge University, England and went on to run one of China's most successful property developers, SOHO China, known for its sleek and modern buildings across the country.

Russian Elena Baturina, a former factory worker, went on to establish Inteco (Inteko in Russian) in 1991. Her company  focuses on construction in Moscow. In 2005 Inteco sold its cement works and  a prefabrication arm  for $1.1 billion. Baturina then bought shares in Gazprom and Sberbank. According to Forbes magazine, Baturina's net worth was $4.2 billion in 2008. 

Out of the self made billionaire women in the world today,  three are very well known to most women Oprah Winfrey, JK Rowling and Margaret Whitman.

Why are there so few?

Women have had opportunity for over 20 years now. And we've had women as Chief Executives for some time too. Today a great many women already fall into the self made millionaire category, so why are there not more billionaires?

To break through the highest point of the glass ceiling into the billionaire level, women need to have either the desire to reach that level as their single financial goal or a business that they enjoy and is so successful that they almost inadvertently reach billionaire status.

Women are very able to reach the billionaire level, but most women will not pursue an activity merely to make more wealth. They will rarely chase the next deal or the next contract merely to attain the magic figure. Once many women have reached the point of financial comfort and security, it would appear many are content to stay at that level. Unless they have the rare opportunity to combine what they love with a brand so powerful that it just keeps growing.

What are the secrets, we can learn from these women? 

You will find a myriad of media articles associated with the women featured in famous women and their money. Rather than comment on that coverage, we have chosen to take from each woman an alternative message. Messages that can be applied to everyday life.

Pink Investments is a website designed for women at every stage of the financial ladder. Whether you are grappling with debt or already have a successful investment portfolio, you will find resources and articles of interest to you. 

A common thread shared by many women is that someone else or something else always comes first.

Women are on the whole excellent day to day money managers, but their inclination to put everyone before themselves often hampers their ability to achieve financial independence and wealth. 

From a financial perspective, women must learn to put themselves first, take charge of the situation and lead the way forward. Otherwise they will constantly find themselves having to juggle the family finances and respond to the next financial crisis. These women must learn to become pro-active and not merely reactive.

The lessons we glean from the famous women featured in this section are those of: Accessibility, Accountability, Balance, Self belief, Perseverance, Passion,  Natural talent and following your heart. 

What can we really learn from JK Rowling and her successful writing career or brand Oprah?