Hurun Research Unveils Self-Made Women Billionaires List 2026

• Hurun Research released the "Hurun Self-Made Women Billionaires 2026" list
• The list comprises 150 self-made women billionaires, a record high, more than twice the figure from a decade ago

The Hurun Research Institute has published the Hurun Global Richest Self-Made Women in the World 2026 Report, now in its fourteenth year. Data for this report, taken from the Hurun Global Rich List 2026, is current as of January 15, 2026, and has been compared with the previous report from 2023.

This year’s report identifies 150 female billionaires from 20 different countries, with 115 of the women listed showing growth in their fortunes; additionally, 60 new names appear on the list. There were 50 women who experienced a decrease or no change in their fortunes, and 15 women have dropped off the list altogether.

Total wealth (for all women included in the report) has increased from $310 billion (2023) to $470 billion (2026), or an increase of 52 percent. The majority (63 percent) of women on this year’s list have created their wealth from publicly traded companies.

The average age of women on the list is 61 years old, which is five years younger than the average age of women on the Hurun Global Rich List overall. Only 12 women are younger than 40 years old, indicating a new wave of younger female entrepreneurs.

The study found that 53 percent of women sell to businesses, while 47 percent sell directly to consumers. In addition, 62 percent of the women surveyed are involved in making and selling tangible goods, while 38 percent are producing and selling software.

The Hurun Report’s chairman and chief researcher Rupert Hoogewerf states, “In the last ten years, the number of female billionaires has increased significantly, as the rise of China, the growth of the world, the advances in artificial intelligence (AI), and the expansion of the healthcare sector result in significant increases in the number of female billionaires.”

Some of the largest self-made female billionaire companies, including Alibaba, Anthropic and Nu Holdings have a combined market capitalization of $1.2 trillion, demonstrating how women entrepreneurs excel across varied industries.

An additional trend is the significant rise of philanthropic efforts, as a growing number of female billionaires are joining the ranks of philanthropists.

Two notable examples are MacKenzie Scott, who has given $26 billion to charity; and Judy Faulkner, who has pledged to use most of her wealth for charitable purposes. Female millionaires are creating wealth through business, and leveraging that wealth towards social change.

The report shows the great strides women have taken in the entrepreneurship and wealth-creation space, showing the changing global economy.