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Despite the massive pressure in media, women are reaching new heights. To commemorate their achievements, Forbes created a list of the richest self-made women in America in 2021. Take a look at the top-five women changing history!
Diane Hendricks
Mike De Sisti
Boasting a fortune of $11 billion, Diane Hendricks broke the record in 2021. She became the first self-made woman to overthrow $10 billion in net worth. How did she get so much out of her business? Hendricks cofounded a roofing supply firm with her late husband Ken. Before that, the company owner sold customized buildings for a builder. Now, she’s managing the company alone. Since then, the businesswoman helped ABC get the biggest acquisitions, including buying Bradco and L&W Supply and bringing in millions in profit. In addition to that, Hendricks is known for caring for the local economy, fixing and rebuilding Beloit as well as developing businesses in the state.
Judy Faulkner
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Falling back with $6.5 billion on her hands, Judy Faulkner is the one who started Epic, one of the most popular medical-record software providers in the United States. She’s fascinating! Faulkner founded the company back in 1979 when she had the basement as her office. Previously, it was called Human Services Computing. Faulkner only had $70,000 in her pocket and two part-time assistants by her side. The programmer still hasn’t stepped down from her CEO position and can proudly say the company has $3.3. billion in sales. Nowadays, Epic holds onto medical records of over 250 million users in medical centers across America. Besides business ventures, Faulkner gave away 99% of her net worth to charity in 2015.
Meg Whitman
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Meg Whitman became an essential figure in eBay’s history. From 1998 to 2008, she grew the company’s sales from $5.7 million to $8 billion, and her net worth is $6.3 billion! “My mother taught me that you don’t have to be perfect to be a leader, but you can’t be timid,” the ex-CEO said. “That lesson is part of the reason I went to eBay. I’d been running a multimillion-dollar business at Hasbro but sensed a very big opportunity.” After eBay, Whitman was CEO of Hewlett-Packard, the chief executive at HPE. Now, she’s on the boards of Procter & Gamble, Immortals LLC, and Dropbox. Moreover, Whitman is the CEO of Quibi.
Judy Love
Oklahoma Hall of Fame
Judy Love, who has a net worth of $5.2 billion, started with a loan. She and her husband Tom opened their first gas station in 1964 and managed the company together until 1975. Afterward, Love returned to college to get a degree. In 2021, Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores branched out into over 550 stores all over the U.S., where the businesswoman is the executive secretary. Furthermore, she’s a chairman at the Love Family Fund. Almost the whole family work for the company, including her husband and three children.
Marian Ilitch
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Last but not least, is Marian Ilitch, who created Little Caesars Pizza with her late husband. Bringing hot dishes to the table since 1959, she has a net worth of $4.4 billion and a pizza chain with $4 billion in yearly sales. Despite already owning Little Caesars, Ilitch has the Detroit Red Wings and MotorCity Casino Hotel in her hands. She loves developing businesses in Detroit. These days, she’s helping build a $1.4 billion sports and entertainment district. There’s a catch – the windows are all shaped like pizza slices!
Women are always making progress in all possible spheres. They are the ones motivating girls to study and do better.
