10 Most Successful Women Entrepreneurs

Women have been paving the path for entrepreneurs in every industry for many decades. From Estée Lauder, who launched her cosmetics company in the 1940s, to Ruth Fertel, who aspired to have the best steak restaurant (Ruth’s Chris Steak House), women entrepreneurs have been able to withstand economic and business pressures to be the best.

Today, the list of women entrepreneurs spans many industries. Below is a list of the 10 most successful women entrepreneurs who have made a significant mark in different industries in recent decades. This list is in no particular order and by no means exhaustive, but it strives to recognize women who have built a world-renowned brand through their own hard work and strong drive.

Real Estate

Zhang Xin

Zhang Xin is co-founder of SOHO China, a real estate development firm in China that went public in 2007. Known as “the woman who built Beijing,” she was once a factory worker, later graduating from Cambridge University with a master’s degree in economic development. Zhang worked for Goldman Sachs before launching her company; she has since amassed a $2.8 billion fortune.

Biotechnology

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is the founder of Biocon, a global biopharmaceutical company. She began Biocon out of a rented shed and grew it into India’s largest listed biopharma firm in terms of revenue. Biocon went public in 2004 and became only the second Indian company to reach $1 billion on its first trading day. Mazumdar-Shaw is India’s second wealthiest self-made woman (behind Nykaa founder Falguni Nayar), with a net worth of $2.1 billion as of February 2023, according to Forbes. 

Workforce Management

Janice Bryant Howroyd

Janice Bryant Howroyd is the founder and CEO of ActOne Group, the first Black female-led company to bring in more than $1 billion in annual revenue.ActOne is primarily an employment agency and consultancy based in Los Angeles with more than 17,000 clients in 33 countries. Like many of her counterparts on this list, Howroyd started from very humble beginnings, launching her company with just $1,500 in 1978. She is listed in Forbes’ America’s Richest Self-Made Women for 2022.

Entertainment and Media

Oprah Winfrey

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey continues to build her media empire. Winfrey, a TV personality turned entrepreneur, co-founded Oxygen Media, a cable station. She continued hosting her talk show until 2011, subsequently creating OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, which she leads as CEO. In 2015, Winfrey bought an equity stake in Weight Watchers International and became a spokeswoman for the popular subscription weight loss program. Winfrey has a net worth of $2.5 billion as of February 2023, according to Forbes.

Beyoncé

The singer-songwriter, who started as part of Destiny’s Child in the mid-1990s, has since become a huge top-selling female solo artist and a global brand. Beyoncé signed a $50 million endorsement deal with PepsiCo in 2012. Through her company, Parkwood Entertainment, Beyoncé produces movies, music, and clothing. In 2019, she signed a $60 million contract with Netflix to provide content to the streaming service. Her net worth as of February 2023 is $450 million, according to Forbes.

Arianna Huffington

Arianna Huffington launched the news website The Huffington Post in 2005. She sold it to AOL in 2011 but continued to guide it and grow the Huffington brand overseas. In that same year, Time Magazine included her in its list of the world’s 100 most influential people. In 2016, she stepped down from The Huffington Post to launch health and wellness startup Thrive Global, which she leads as CEO. Huffington has also authored 15 books.

Fashion and Beauty

Tory Burch

Founder of her namesake company, Tory Burch launched the U.S.-based clothing and fashion line in 2004. The brand now brings in $1.5 billion in sales annually. She was included in Forbes’ 50 Over 50 (Lifestyle) and America's Self-Made Women lists in 2022. Burch is also a philanthropist who launched the Tory Burch Foundation to support women entrepreneurs.

Sara Blakely

The inventor of Spanx undergarments for women and men, Blakely started with only $5,000 of her own money, an idea, and pure drive. Today, the brand is sold in more than 50 countries. Like Tory Burch, Blakely also has a foundation to help women worldwide. To support women entrepreneurs during the 2020 economic crisis, she teamed up with GlobalGiving to launch the Red Backpack Fund, which awarded more than a thousand $5,000 awards to women business owners.

Katie Rodan and Kathy Fields

The co-founders of skincare and multilevel marketing company Rodan + Fields felt so strongly about eradicating acne for all ages that they joined together to develop their flagship product, Proactiv, in 1995. The makers have since taken the dermatologic knowledge that helped them conquer the acne market to the anti-aging skincare market. Each has a net worth of $530 million and is included in Forbes’ 2022 America’s Richest Self-Made Women list.

Rihanna

Just 35 years old, Rihanna is the youngest woman on this list. The superstar singer has made most of her $1.7 billion fortune from Fenty Beauty, a cosmetics line that she co-owns with luxury goods group LVMH. She also co-owns Savage X Fenty, a lingerie line, with investors. Her foundation, the Clara Lionel Foundation, raised $47 million for climate, racial justice, COVID-related relief, and other causes in 2020. Rihanna headlined the Super Bowl LVII halftime show in 2023, revealing that she was pregnant with her second child. She has a net worth of $1.4 billion as of February 2023 and is included in Forbes’ 2022 Power Women and America’s Richest Self-Made Women lists.

The Bottom Line

Historically, women entrepreneurs are best known for running fashion houses (Diane von Furstenberg, for example) or cosmetic companies (such as Mary Kay Cosmetics, founded by Mary Kay Ash), but in recent decades, more women entrepreneurs have risen to prominence in a wide range of industries.