Women in business and female entrepreneurs have been taking the world by storm in the last few decades. Many articles, books, and even movies have been made about female entrepreneurship, which has certainly been a hot topic in the corporate world.
Businesses owned by women are increasing by the day and getting a place in the global market. It has been found that about 30% of all the businesses in the U.S are now owned by women. And that’s a huge achievement for all the women out there, who traditionally tend to get suppressed and face hindrances such as sexism.
It is nothing new that women have to face way more challenges in our world. We often describe our world as a man’s world as it is truly dominated by men. Women have to tackle serious problems such as being underpaid, office harassment, sexism, and even passed over for promotions that constantly approach them. That is why women are turning to freelance and starting their own businesses. Therefore, they are getting a chance to escape from this male-dominant corporate world in order to increase their chances of success. From powerful leaders to bestseller writers, from great actresses to media moguls, women have always proved their worth.
Here, in this article, we will share with you tales about the 10 most influential women entrepreneurs in the world.
10. Sofia Vergara
Sofia Vergara is a Colombian-American actress, model, television producer, and presenter born on 10th July 1972. She was one of the top-earning actresses in America in 2012, 2013, and in 2016. As of 2019, Sofia is the highest-paid TV actress in the world.
This talented actress has gained endorsements from various brands like Head & Shoulders, Diet Pepsi, and Cover Girl. Sofia also co-founded a talent management and entertainment marketing firm Latin World Entertainment. In 2019 she got more than $37 million through her various endeavors. She grabbed the 10th position on our list of 10 most influential women entrepreneurs in the world.
9. Arianna Huffington
Ariana Huffington was born on 15th July 1950 in Greece. She is a Greek-American author, columnist, and businesswoman. Ariana grabs her spot in Time Magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people and Forbes Most Powerful Women list in 2019.
Ariana Huffington was the co-founder of the famous company The Huffington Post. She has another feather in her cap: she is also the founder and CEO of Thrive Global. She is still a big part of the company even after selling The Huffington Post to AOL for $315 million. She holds the 9th position on our list of 10 most influential women entrepreneurs in the World.
8. Susan Wojcicki
Many of us know the name Susan Wojcicki as the original CEO of our favorite video streaming site YouTube. But do you know that this America born entrepreneur was also involved in the founding of our beloved solution portal Google? Not only was this beautiful woman Google’s first marketing manager in 1999, but she also led the company’s online advertising business.
Wojcicki was born in California in 1968. She took her first computer science class as a senior. After graduating from Harvard, she received her Master’s of Science in Economics from the University of California in 1993. From the UCLA Anderson School of Management in 1998, she got her Master of Business Administration degree.
7. Gina Rinehart
Gina Rinehart was born on 9th February 1954 in Australia. She took over Hancock Prospecting and gained a 76.6% share of the company after the death of her father in 1992.
Gina Rinehart is among the richest female entrepreneurs in the world. As of this writing, she is the richest person in Australia and also the 6th richest woman in the entire globe. She has a personal wealth count of $11.7 billion. She is the Chairman of the Hancock Prospecting Group which is a mining company. This company produces more than 30 million tons of iron ore each year.
6. Christine Legarde
Christine Legarde is a French-born politician and leader born on 1st January 1956. She was the chair and MD (managing director) of the International Monetary Fund and now she is the head of the European Central Bank.
On November 1, 2019, Christine Legarde became the first-ever woman to be president of the European Central Bank. She showed the possibility of economic growth in a time of geopolitical uncertainty in the European monetary policy. She ran the International Monetary Fund from 2011 until mid-2019 and ensured the stability of the global system.
5. J. K Rowling
5th on our list of 10 most influential women entrepreneurs in the world, we have Joanne Rowling aka J K Rowling. This British author is best known for writing the fantasy series Harry Potter – the book series that has helped her win multiple awards as it eventually became the best-selling book series in history. This 54-year old single mother was working as a researcher and a bilingual secretary for Amnesty International. Rowling got the idea of this fantasy series while she was traveling on a delayed train in 1990. At that time she had to face many things. Her mother died, she gave birth to her first child, got divorced from her husband, and faced poverty.
This lady bought a generation of TV and video game addicts back into reading and imagination. She also managed to make her stories into a major film series. Moreover, the Rowling franchise is a fully functioning theme park that is competing with Disney. She has influenced millions of children and also many adults to believe in themselves.
4. Sara Blakely
Sara Tre leaven Blakely was born on 27th February 1971. She is the founder of Spanx, one of the top intimate apparel companies that also makes great leggings and pants. Although she planned to become an attorney, she never made it in law school.
Sara Blakely is really our modern-day ‘Wonder Woman’, bagging the title of the ‘World’s Youngest Self-Made Female Billionaire’.
3. Indra Nooyi
3rd on our list of 10 most influential women entrepreneurs in the world, we have Indra Nooyi. Indra Nooyi was born in Chennai, India on 28th October 1955. She got her MBA degree from the IIM Calcutta and then got an MS from Yale University. Indra Nooyi has consistently grabbed the position of one of the world’s most powerful women since the last decades.
This madras born business executive is one of the most powerful women in business. She has held many executive positions in many top companies in the world. Nooyi is currently the chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, the second-largest food and drink company in the world.
2. Cher Wang
No list of the top female entrepreneurs would be complete without Cher Wang. She is undoubtedly one of the most important women entrepreneurs in the world. She has an estimated net worth of $6.8 billion. Wang set up her own company HTC which has quickly gained popularity and gained 20% of the smartphone market by 2010.
This Taiwanese philanthropist and entrepreneur was born on 15th September 1958. She is very popular for giving heavy donations to different educational centers.
1. Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Gail Winfrey is an American talk show host who was born on 29th January 1954. She is most popular for her show The Oprah Winfrey Show that was the highest-rated television show and made history. Oprah was the richest African-American woman of the 20th century and the greatest black entrepreneur in America’s history.
Oprah is undoubtedly the most successful woman entrepreneurs in the world. Her wealth and popularity are completely self-made. She has an estimated worth of $2.7 billion. Oprah has created many television programs that women love to watch. Not only this, but she has also gone to excel in many forms of media. Oprah has had president Obama on her show twice. She is one of the world’s most famous people and has donated 100s of millions to make this world a better place. For this reason, she tops our list of 10 most influential women entrepreneurs in the world.
Conclusion
These women have made themselves the most successful women entrepreneurs using their own power and skillset. They overcame every failure in their path and ultimately reached their destination. Indeed, all of them serve as great inspirations for other women that wish to pursue their success.
