3 Things to Learn from the Lady Billionaires in the Forbes List
If by mention of the word ‘billionaire’, all you can think of are Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, you are probably ignorant about the world around you. Forbes has just released the annual list of billionaires, and this time there has been a significant increase in the number of woman contenders. Compared to last year, there has been a 25% increase in female representation of the world’s billionaires. Forbes has listed 1645 billionaires all over the world, of whom 172 are women. In fact, the title of the world’s richest person has been taken over by a woman from Bill Gates. She is Christy Walton, who has a stake in Walmart, with a fortune of more than $35 billion. All in all, women are no longer staying put as far as making one’s own fortune is concerned. Listed below are 3 things to learn from the lady billionaires in the Forbes list.
1. You can start from scratch
Making one’s own fortune is more a matter of dedication and perseverance rather than destiny. Of the 172 women billionaires listed in the Forbes list, 32 are self made. The rest have inherited their fortune from a parent or husband. Famous self made billionaires include Oprah Winfrey, Sara Blakey and Meg Whitman. One of the newer entrants in the billionaire club is Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook. Others include Nigeria’s Folorunsho Alakija, who has a lucrative oil production company, and Britain’s self made businesswoman Denise Coates, the co-CEO of Bet365, an online gambling website.
2. It is never too late
Age is no bar when it comes to making one’s fortune. Also, it is never too early or too late to do what your heart desires and to chase your dreams. In the Forbes list of billionaires, a 24-year old woman also became the world’s youngest billionaire. Perenna Kei of China holds 85% stake in Logan Property Holdings which got listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in December last year. Her father, aged 47, has a lesser stake and is the chairman of the real estate company which made close to 7 billion yuan in 2012.
3. Girl power is here to stay
Looking at the upward trend pointed out by Forbes in its annual billionaire list, one thing is probably certain – girl power is here to stay! Even though the statistics are not too favorable for women at the time – only 32 out of the 172 female billionaires are self made and only 172 out of the 1645 billionaires worldwide are women – it can be said that the ones who made it to the top have actually broken quite a few records. This could probably act as a boost for women all over the world and thereby strengthen the much talked about girl power in this male dominated world.
