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This week marked the launch of our annual list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women, and unlike prior editions of this ranking, the 2026 list focuses just on those with ten-figure fortunes. And from rocket ships and AI chips to construction and chatbots, America’s self-made female billionaires have found dozens of ways to prosper.

A record 43 self-made billionaire queens of capitalism made the list, up from 38 a year ago, despite the passing of two legendary women, Gap cofounder Doris Fisher (d. May 2026 at age 94) and Bio-Rad Laboratories’ Alice Schwartz (d. September 2025, at age 99). Among the new billionaires on the list: Beyonce Knowles-Carter, who climbs into the ranks on the back of her 2025 Cowboy Carter Tour, which grossed more than $450 million in ticket sales and merchandise; and Caryn Seidman-Becker who runs Clear Secure, an ID tech outfit used for security checkpoints at airports and, increasingly, at stadiums and doctors’ offices. (Read more about her in the featured story below.)

The combined net worth of these entrepreneurs, executives and celebrities stands at a record $166.3 billion. The top ten account for $96 billion of that sum; that’s more than triple the total worth of the top ten on our inaugural list in 2015—roughly on par with the 333% return of the S&P over the same period.

I recommend checking out the whole package, which you can view here.

P.S.: The nominations form for the 2026........

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