The worlds rich lists continue to be male-dominated, with the likes of Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates becoming the first people in history to achieve a net worth in excess of $100bn. Despite progress being made across industries, the lack of females in the top spots imply that the gender gap is still a prominent issue when it comes to business and women’s earning potential.
RS Components has analysed the net worth of some of the world’s richest female billionaires to find out just how far behind women are in achieving a net worth of $100bn and when they are likely to join the ‘centi-billionaire’ club.
Coming in first is French billionaire heiress, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers. L’Oreal’s founder, Eugène Schueller’s granddaughter and board member of the personal care company since 1997. Bettencourt Meyers net worth is estimated to double from $53.9bn to $100bn in just nine years.
The second female to join the club is Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezo’s ex-wife, MacKenzie Bezos. Amazon’s first-ever employee and now one of American’s top novelist and philanthropist has a $39.1bn fortune. She is currently known as the worlds 22nd richest person and by December 2034 will be sitting amongst her ex-husband as a ‘centi-billionaire’.
Shortly behind Bettencourt Meyers and Bezos is Gina Rinehart. Chairman of Hancock Prospecting, a privately owned mineral exploration and extraction company originally founded by Gina’s father, Lang Hancock. Today, Rinehart is classed as Australias richest citizen due to her net worth of $15.5bn, is predicted to be a member of the ‘centi-billionaire’ club in 20-years.
The piece reveals that for some females on the list reaching $100bn is unlikely within their lifetime. For example, Chilean businesswoman, Iris Fontbona and president and chief executive officer of Fidelity Investments, Abby Johnson both have a net worth totalling $15.5bn, taking 50+ years for them to become a centi-billionaires.
As females continue to move up the ranks on the rich lists, will this be seen across all industries? Or is gender pay equality only for the elite?
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