L'Oréal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers became the world's richest woman in 2021.

Forbes magazine released a list of the 328 richest women in the world in 2021. This number increased by more than 36% compared to the previous year.

Of the 328 richest women, 108 women earned their wealth through their own businesses, 66 women inherited wealth and developed it further, and 154 women inherited wealth without actively participating in its development.

In first place is Francoise Bettencourt Meyers and family. She is the granddaughter of the founder of L'Oréal, one of the world's leading cosmetic brands. Francoise has a net worth of US$73.6 billion. She has been a leader at L'Oréal since 1997.

Alice Walton, the only child of the founder of Walmart, ranks second among the world's richest women with a net worth of US$61.8 billion. Alice dropped to second place as the world's richest woman, but still gained US$7.4 billion in 2020 thanks to her retail network.

MacKenzie Scott ranks third with a net worth of US$53 billion. Her divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos skyrocketed her wealth, partly due to her 4% stake in Amazon. In July 2020, she donated US$1.7 billion to 119 non-profit organizations.

Here are the Top 10 Richest Women in the World

1. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers
2. Alice Walton
3. MacKenzie Scott
4. Julia Koch
5. Miriam Adelson
6. Jacqueline Mars
7. Yang Huiyan
8. Susanne Klatten
9. Gina Rinehart
10. Iris Fontbona