New richest WOMAN in the world: Here’s who
According to the respected Bloomberg Billionaires Index, there is a new richest woman in the world. Here’s who she is …
According to the respected Bloomberg Billionaires Index, there is a new richest woman in the world.
While the Forbes Real Time Billionaires list and the Bloomberg version do at times differ, according to the latter 74-year-old American Alice Walton is the new world’s richest woman.
Walton lies 17th in the overall list with a personal fortune of $96.9 billion as the time of publishing.
Family history
Walton is the only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton.
She has focused on curating art, rather than working for Walmart like her brothers, Rob and Jim.
In 2011, she opened the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in her hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas.
Crystal Bridges features works from the likes of Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell and Mark Rothko.
In 2022, the holistic health institute Walton founded in Bentonville a year earlier was renamed the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine.
Jim Walton ($99.9 billion) and Rob Walton ($97.6 billion) and the 15th and 16th, respectively, richest people is the world.
A fourth sibling, John, was killed in an aircraft crash in 2005.
John Walton was survived by his wife Christy and their son Lukas.
Christy Walton, 75, is worth a reported $15.6 billion and is the 133rd richest person in the world, while 37-year-old Lukas is worth $34.7 billion and lies 45th in the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
Controls half of Walmart
Walton has surpassed L’Oréal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers to become the world’s richest woman.
Bettencourt Meyers’s net worth has declined to $90.6 billion amid a drop in L’Oréal’s stock.
The Walton family collectively controls about half of Walmart, the world’s largest retailer with annual revenue of $648 billion in fiscal 2024.
Bettencourt Meyers, granddaughter of L’Oréal founder Eugène Schueller, inherited her mother’s stake in the company and manages the family holding, Téthys.
Bettencourt Meyers’s net worth has dropped nearly US$10 billion this year, reflecting a 10% dip in L’Oréal’s stock value, allowing Walton to claim the top spot.
Top 10 richest women in the world
Ranking according to Forbes
| Rank | Name | Net worth | Age |
| 1 | Alice Walton | $89.1 billion | 74 |
| 2 | Francoise Bettencourt Meyers & family | $89 billion | 71 |
| 3 | Julia Koch & family | $74.2 billion | 62 |
| 4 | Jacqueline Mars | $47.6 billion | 84 |
| 5 | Savitri Jindal & family | $39.4 billion | 74 |
| 6 | Rafaela Aponte-Diamant | $34.8 billion | 79 |
| 7 | MacKenzie Scott | $32.9 billion | 54 |
| 8 | Gina Rinehart | $31.5 billion | 70 |
| 8 | Abigail Johnson | $31.3 billion | 62 |
| 10 | Miriam Adelson & family | $29.6 billion | 78 |
Richest man in the world
For interest’s sake, Warren Buffett at 94 years of age is the oldest member of the Top 10 list.
By contrast, the oldest person on the woman’s Top 10 list is 84-year-old Jacqueline Mars.
The average age of those in the Top 10 richest overall is 64, while the average age on the Top 10 woman’s list is considerably higher at 70.8.
Top 10 richest people in the world
Correct as of 4 September 2024 at 12:45 SA time
| Rank | Name | Net worth | Age |
| 1 | Elon Musk | $241.7 billion | 53 |
| 2 | Jeff Bezos | $194.9 billion | 60 |
| 3 | Bernard Arnault & family | $183.7 billion | 75 |
| 4 | Mark Zuckerberg | $177.3 billion | 40 |
| 5 | Larry Ellison | $172.7 billion | 80 |
| 6 | Warren Buffett | $150.1 billion | 94 |
| 7 | Bill Gates | $136.9 billion | 68 |
| 8 | Larry Page | $131.3 billion | 51 |
| 9 | Sergey Brin | $125.8 billion | 51 |
| 10 | Steve Ballmer | $120.8 billion | 68 |