The landscape of wealth and entrepreneurship in America has been profoundly reshaped by the rise of self-made women who have built their fortunes from the ground up. Forbes’ 2025 ranking of America’s self-made richest women offers a compelling snapshot of female entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic influence.
This annual list of self-made richest women in America not only celebrates these trailblazers but also provides valuable insights into the industries driving female wealth creation and the challenges these women have overcome.
These self-made richest women’s achievements provide compelling evidence of women’s economic prowess, fueling discussions, validating efforts for greater inclusion, and inspiring future generations to pursue their most ambitious dreams without limitation. Understanding their journeys is crucial for measuring strides, identifying persistent barriers, and continuing the push for a truly equitable economic future.
Why These Self-Made Richest Women in America Ranking Matters
The Forbes 2025 ranking of America’s self-made richest women holds significant importance for several reasons. Marking the 10th year of this annual list, it highlights a remarkable evolution: the number of self-made female billionaires has more than doubled since 2015, increasing from 18 to 38.
This surge reflects the growing economic power of women entrepreneurs and executives across a diverse range of industries, including automotive, beauty products, technology, and even wine production.
- For aspiring female business leaders, the ranking serves as a powerful source of inspiration, demonstrating that with innovation, perseverance, and strategic vision, building substantial wealth is achievable despite systemic barriers. These richest women are not only creating successful companies but are also leveraging their influence to impact culture, politics, and investment in undervalued sectors such as women’s sports.
- For investors and financial professionals, the industries represented by these richest women indicate where high-growth opportunities are emerging. The diversity of sectors—from tech startups to retail and manufacturing—provides valuable insights into market trends and potential investment avenues.
- For advocates, academics, and policymakers focused on women’s economic empowerment, the list acts as a benchmark to measure progress and identify persistent challenges. While the number of self-made female billionaires has grown, wealth disparities and obstacles remain, making this ranking a vital tool for understanding how far women have come and what still needs to be addressed.
In sum, the Forbes 2025 list of America’s self-made richest women not only celebrates female achievement and influence but also informs and motivates a broad audience by showcasing the transformative impact of self-made richest women on America’s economy and society.
Key Concepts: Understanding Self-Made Wealth Among Women
Self-made wealth refers to fortunes built primarily through an individual’s efforts rather than inheritance or family wealth. For women, this often means overcoming additional hurdles such as gender biases, funding gaps, and the challenge of balancing multiple roles to create successful enterprises.
Forbes’ 2025 list confirms that most of America’s self-made richest women come from middle-class backgrounds, with only a few having affluent origins or experiencing poverty, illustrating diverse starting points but a common theme of building wealth independently.
Entrepreneurship and Wealth Building
Women entrepreneurs are increasingly entering high-growth, traditionally male-dominated industries such as technology, logistics, and wellness. Their success is often driven by innovation, community-building, and addressing underserved markets.
For example, Lucy Guo, co-founder of the AI company Scale AI, became the youngest self-made billionaire at age 30, fueled by the booming AI sector. Other women have thrived in sectors like automotive supply (Diane Hendricks), fast food (Peggy Cherng of Panda Express), and beauty (Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty).
Financial Literacy and Investment
Financial literacy is a critical factor in wealth accumulation. Among U.S. women, financial literacy has improved significantly—from 30% in 2014 to 52% in 2024—yet it still lags behind men, who have a literacy rate of 62%.
This gap impacts women’s ability to invest, manage wealth, and close the gender wealth gap. With women projected to control $30 trillion in assets by 2030, improving financial literacy is essential for empowering more women to build and sustain wealth.
Self-Made Scores and Wealth Origins
Forbes uses a self-made scoring system from 6 to 10 to classify the degree of self-made success, with all women on the list scoring within this range. This system helps differentiate those who started from scratch or modest means from those who had some inherited advantages but still built substantial wealth through their efforts.
By understanding these key concepts—self-made wealth, entrepreneurial innovation, and financial literacy—readers gain insight into the multifaceted journey women undertake to achieve economic success in America today.
Current Trends and Developments in Women’s Wealth
Industry Diversity and Growth
The 2025 Forbes list of America’s self-made richest women highlights the remarkable breadth of industries where self-made richest women have built their wealth, reflecting both traditional and emerging sectors:
- Construction and Manufacturing: Diane Hendricks, the richest self-made woman in America, chairs ABC Supply, a leading wholesale distributor of roofing and building materials. Since co-founding the company in 1982, she has driven its expansion through strategic acquisitions, growing the company’s revenue from $3.7 billion in 2015 to over $20 billion in recent years.
- Retail and Fast Food: Judy Love transformed a single leased gas station into Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, a nationwide chain. Similarly, Peggy Cherng co-founded Panda Express, a dominant player in the fast-food industry, demonstrating the power of scaling consumer-focused businesses.
- Technology and Software: Women like Judy Faulkner (Epic Systems) and Jayshree Ullal (Arista Networks) have made significant strides in tech, a sector critical to future wealth creation. Their leadership in healthcare IT and networking technology, respectively, underscores the growing influence of women in high-tech industries.
- Beauty and Wellness: Female-led brands such as Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty and companies like Glossier and Sakara Life are redefining consumer engagement in e-commerce and wellness markets, capitalizing on trends toward personalized health and beauty products.
Increasing Number of Female Billionaires
Since 2015, the number of self-made female billionaires in America has more than doubled, rising from 18 to 38 in 2025. This growth not only reflects individual success stories but also broader shifts in economic opportunity and access to capital for women entrepreneurs.
The minimum net worth to qualify for the list of self-made richest women has also increased from $250 million in 2015 to $350 million in 2025, indicating rising wealth thresholds and growing fortunes among these women.
Top 15 Self-Made Richest Women in America
| Name | Net Worth | Age | Source | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diane Hendricks | $22.3 B | 78 | Building supplies | Wisconsin |
| Judy Faulkner | $7.8 B | 81 | Healthcare software | Wisconsin |
| Marian Ilitch & family | $6.9 B | 92 | Little Caesars Pizza | Michigan |
| Lynda Resnick | $6.3 B | 82 | Agriculture | California |
| Thai Lee | $6.1 B | 66 | IT provider | Texas |
| Elizabeth Uihlein | $5.6 B | 79 | Packaging materials | Illinois |
| Gail Miller & family | $4.6 B | 81 | Car dealerships | Utah |
Eren Ozmen | $4.4 B | 66 | Aerospace | Nevada |
| Jayshree Ullal | $4.4 B | 64 | Computer networking | California |
| Johnelle Hunt | $3.8 B | 93 | Trucking | Arkansas |
| Peggy Cherng | $3.6 B | 77 | Fast food | Nevada |
| Meg Whitman | $3.6 B | 68 | EBay | California |
| Oprah Winfrey | $3.1 B | 71 | TV shows | Illinois |
| Weili Dai | $2.9 B | 63 | Semiconductors | Nevada |
| Safra Catz | $2.6 B | 63 | Software | Florida |
Challenges Women Entrepreneurs Face
Despite the impressive rise in the number of self-made richest women building substantial wealth, female entrepreneurs continue to encounter significant and persistent challenges that hinder their business growth and financial success.
Financial Confidence Gap
Only about 23% of women entrepreneurs report feeling financially successful, compared to 32% of men in similar roles. This confidence gap affects women’s willingness to seek funding, expand their businesses, and take financial risks. Many women juggle multiple jobs or responsibilities, which adds to the pressure and can undermine their sense of financial accomplishment.
Funding Barriers
Access to capital remains one of the most critical obstacles for women entrepreneurs:
- Female-led startups receive only about 2.3% to 3.2% of total venture capital funding, with women of color receiving even less.
- Women-led businesses are 31% less likely to succeed in funding applications than male-led businesses, and even when funding is secured, women receive 30% less capital on average.
- Only 29% of women apply for funding, compared to 43% of men, reflecting issues of confidence, accessibility, and potential bias in the investment process.
- Many women rely heavily on personal savings (75%) or informal loans from family and friends (24%) to start their businesses, with very few accessing bank loans (27%) or angel/venture capital funding (under 5% combined).
This funding gap limits women’s ability to scale their businesses, innovate, and compete on equal footing with male entrepreneurs.
Industry Concentration in Lower-Revenue Sectors
A large proportion of women-owned businesses operate as solo ventures in service-oriented industries such as childcare, social assistance, and retail. These sectors typically generate lower revenues, which constrain wealth accumulation and business expansion opportunities. This concentration in lower-growth sectors further exacerbates the gender wealth gap.
Cultural and Social Constraints
Societal expectations often encourage women to be cautious, selfless, and risk-averse rather than bold and profit-driven. Many women also balance caregiving and household responsibilities alongside running their businesses, which limits the time and energy they can dedicate to growth and investment.
Additional challenges include:
- Gender bias and skepticism from financial institutions and investors, that women entrepreneurs are not being taken as seriously as their male counterparts.
- Lower hiring and expansion plans among women-led businesses, with only 34% planning to hire staff compared to 53% of men, indicating more conservative growth strategies.
While self-made richest women have made remarkable strides in wealth creation, significant barriers remain:
- Confidence gaps reduce women’s financial success and willingness to seek growth capital.
- Persistent funding disparities severely limit access to venture capital and loans.
- Industry concentration in lower-revenue sectors restricts wealth accumulation.
- Cultural and social expectations impose additional constraints on women entrepreneurs.
Addressing these challenges through targeted funding initiatives, mentorship, financial literacy programs, and cultural change is essential to unlock the full potential of women entrepreneurs and close the gender wealth gap.
Case Studies of Leading Self-Made Richest Women
Diane Hendricks – Construction Magnate
Diane Hendricks leads the Forbes 2025 list of America’s self-made richest women with a net worth of approximately $22.3 billion. She co-founded ABC Supply in 1982 alongside her late husband, Ken Hendricks.
Starting as a small regional roofing materials supplier in Beloit, Wisconsin, Diane played a pivotal role in expanding the company into one of North America’s largest wholesale distributors of roofing, siding, and windows.
After Ken’s passing in 2007, Diane became the sole owner and chairwoman, spearheading major acquisitions such as Bradco in 2010 and L&W Supply in 2016, which significantly broadened ABC Supply’s market reach.
Today, the company operates over 900 branches across the U.S. and Canada, generating more than $20 billion in annual revenue. Diane’s journey from growing up on a dairy farm to building a multi-billion-dollar empire exemplifies resilience, strategic leadership, and an unwavering commitment to growth and community revitalization in her home state of Wisconsin.
Judy Love – Retail Pioneer
Judy Love co-founded Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores in 1964 with a modest $5,000 loan. Beginning with a single leased gas station in Oklahoma, Judy and her husband expanded the business into a nationwide chain of travel stops and convenience stores.
Their success story illustrates how vision, persistence, and hands-on management can transform a small local business into a major player in the retail and fuel service industry. Judy Love’s story is a testament to how humble beginnings, combined with strategic growth and customer focus, can lead to extraordinary wealth and influence.
Judy Faulkner – Tech Innovator
Judy Faulkner is the founder of Epic Systems, a leading healthcare software company specializing in electronic health records (EHR). Her pioneering work has revolutionized healthcare IT by providing hospitals and healthcare providers with advanced software solutions that improve patient care and data management.
Under her leadership, Epic Systems has grown into one of the largest privately held software companies in the U.S., making Judy Faulkner one of the most influential women in technology. Her success highlights the critical role women play in driving innovation and transformation in the tech and healthcare sectors.
Peggy Cherng – Fast Food Entrepreneur
Peggy Cherng co-founded Panda Express, which has become one of the largest and most beloved fast-food chains in America. Combining her cultural heritage with sharp business acumen, Peggy helped build Panda Express into a nationwide powerhouse known for its quality and consistency.
The company’s success reflects the growing impact of women entrepreneurs in the food industry and demonstrates how blending innovation with tradition can create a lasting brand.
These case studies showcase diverse paths to wealth among self-made richest women in America, spanning construction, retail, technology, and food service. Each story underscores the importance of vision, perseverance, and strategic leadership in overcoming challenges and achieving extraordinary success.
FAQs
What defines the “self-made” richest women on the Forbes list?
A self-made richest woman on the Forbes list is someone who has built her wealth primarily through her efforts, entrepreneurship, or leadership rather than inheritance or family wealth. Forbes verifies the origins of each woman’s fortune to ensure it was earned independently. The list uses a self-made scoring system ranging from 6 to 10 to indicate varying degrees of self-made success, with all richest women on the list scoring within this range, reflecting their substantial personal achievement.
Which industries are most common among the self-made richest women?
The self-made richest women in America have amassed wealth across diverse industries, including construction, retail, technology, fast food, beauty, and wellness. These sectors offer scalable growth opportunities and have seen significant female leadership and innovation. For example, Diane Hendricks leads in construction and manufacturing, Judy Love in retail, Judy Faulkner in healthcare technology, and Peggy Cherng in fast food.
How has the number of self-made female billionaires changed over time?
Since 2015, the number of self-made female billionaires in America has more than doubled, increasing from 18 to 38 in 2025. This growth reflects enhanced access to capital, entrepreneurship, and diversification across industries. The minimum net worth threshold to qualify for the list has also risen, indicating growing wealth among these richest women.
What challenges do women entrepreneurs commonly face?
Women entrepreneurs often face funding gaps, with less than 3% of venture capital funding going to women-led startups, and even less for women of color. They also experience lower financial confidence compared to men and frequently operate in service sectors that generate lower revenues, limiting wealth accumulation. Cultural and social constraints, such as societal expectations to be cautious and balance caregiving responsibilities, further restrict their business growth and risk-taking.
How can aspiring female entrepreneurs learn from these self-made richest women?
Key lessons include identifying niche markets, leveraging community and brand storytelling, and prioritizing financial literacy. Successful self-made women emphasize the importance of ownership, building scalable assets like intellectual property or brands that generate income independently. Perseverance through challenges, strategic acquisitions, innovation, and adopting an ownership mindset are crucial for scaling businesses and creating lasting wealth.
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