Forbes Report: These Are 10 Richest Women in the World in 2026

According to a Forbes magazine report, the world's richest group is still dominated by men. Out of the 3,428 richest people in 2026, only 13.4% or 481 women made it into this group.

This year, Alice Walton, the heiress of Walmart, became the richest woman in the world with an estimated wealth of US$134 billion, equivalent to Rp2.296 trillion (assuming Rp17,137 per US$).

Forbes noted that Alice Walton's wealth increased by about US$33 billion due to a 30% increase in her company's shares over the past year.

"Driven by strong profit performance and global e-commerce sales growth, Walmart became the first traditional retailer to reach a market capitalization of US$1 trillion in February," Forbes wrote in its report.

Overall, 9 out of 10 of the world's richest women derive their wealth from family inheritance.

Only Rafaela Aponte-Diamant earned her wealth through her own efforts. Together with her husband, she founded the world's largest shipping company, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), based in Switzerland.

Here is the list of the 10 richest women in the world in 2026 according to Forbes:

1. Alice Walton (Walmart): US$134 billion
2. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers and family (L'Oreal): US$100 billion
3. Julia Koch and family (Koch Inc.): US$81.2 billion
4. Irish Fontbona and family (Luksic Group): US$52.6 billion
5. Jacqueline Mars (Mars Inc.): US$49.1 billion
6. Rafaela Aponte-Diamant (Mediterranean Shipping Company/MSC): US$44.5 billion
7. Savitri Jindal (Jindal Group): US$39.1 billion
8. Miriam Adelson and family (Las Vegas Sands): US$37.5 billion
9. Abigail Johnson (Fidelity Investment): US$33.2 billion
10. Zheng Shuliang and family (China Hongqiao Group): US$33.2 billion.