Gone are days when women were confined to traditional household duties and selected professions. Recently a large number of female entrepreneurs has been rising noticeably from different corners around the world. Women have been showing their expertise as entrepreneurs in almost every industry. Here we have focused on the 10 most successful women entrepreneurs of the 21 century who have made a notable fingerprint in recent decades.
10 Pioneering Women Entrepreneurships of 21st century
Zhang Xin
(24 August 1965-present), Age: 56 years, China
Zhang Xin is a Chinese billionaire businesswoman. She was the co-founder of SOHO China, a real estate development firm in China that became public in 2007. Although she was a factory worker once, eventually she became the owner of dozens of real estate developments in Beijing and Shanghai. Xin achieved huge success in China both as an architectural patron as well as an entrepreneur.
In 2002, she won a special prize at the 8th la Biennale di Venezia for Commune by the Great Wall. In 2014, Forbes declared Zhang as the 62nd most powerful woman in the world. She is also known as one of the top businesswomen in the world regularly. Forbes also ranked Zhang and her husband among the "world's most powerful couples." According to Forbes her net worth was around $3.3 Billion USD in May 2021.
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Gina Rinehart
(9 February 1954-present), Age 67 years, Perth, Australia
Gina Hope Hancock is an Australian billionaire businesswoman. She is the chairman of Hancock Prospecting, a privately-owned mineral exploration, and extraction company. Although the company was founded by her father Lang Hancock, she headed her late father’s bankrupted estate and reinvented it into something bigger.
In 2019, her net worth of USD 14.8 billion makes her the wealthiest person in Australia and the 75th billionaire in the world. She is also the 36th powerful woman as per Forbes 2019.
Sofia Vergara
(10 July 1972-Present), Age: 49 years, United States
Sofia, a Colombian and American actress, and model was the highest-paid actress in American television from 2013 to 2020. Besides, she is a successful female entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of Latin World Entertainment which is a talent management, and entertainment-marketing firm. She became the highest-paid Hollywood actress in 2020. She has been a judge on America's Got Talent since 2020.
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Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
(23 March 1953-Present), Age: 68 years, India,
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, an Indian billionaire entrepreneur is the founder of Biocon, an Indian biopharma company. Biocon is a global company and it became public in 2004. It won the 2nd position among Indian companies which reached $1 billion on its first trading day. She won the Othmer Gold Medal for outstanding contributions to the development of science and chemistry. She is the 68th most powerful woman in the world listed by Forbes. According to Forbes, her net worth was around 3.7 billion USD in December, 2021.
Arianna Huffington
(July 15, 1950 -Present), Age 71 years, Athens, Greece
Arianna Huffington, a Greek-American author, and businesswoman was the co-founder of The Huffington Post. She is also known as the founder and CEO of Thrive Global. Moreover, she is the author of fifteen books. Her name has been listed in Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people and in Forbes as one of the most powerful women.
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Sara Blakely
(February 27, 1971-Present), Age: 51 years, United States
Sara Blakely, an American businesswoman, is the founder and owner of Spanx. Spanx sells leggings, undergarments of both women and men, and other things in more than 65 countries. She is the 23rd American Self-made Woman listed by Forbes and the 1941st billionaire in the world. In 2016, she got the title of 90th powerful woman. According to Forbes, her net worth was around 1.2 billion USD in December, 2021.
Debbi Fields
(September 18, 1956-Present), Age: 65 years, Oakland, California, U.S.
Debbi Fields is the founder of Mrs. Fields Bakeries. She founded Mrs. Fields Bakeries in 1977. It is now one of the largest retailers of fresh cookies in the USA. She expanded her business to 11 different countries since its founding. It has about 650 bakeries in the United States and 80 others in countries around the world. Moreover, she is the author of several cookbooks and she herself makes cookies.
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Wang Laichun
(1966/1967-Present) Age: 54–55years, China
Wang Laichun is a Chinese billionaire, and co-founder of the electronics manufacturer Luxshare Precision Industry Co., Ltd. Founded in 2004 in Dongguan, China, the Company designs and manufactures computer cables which is also a key assembler of AirPods for Apple. In 2019, Wang Laichun ranked as the 71st richest person in China and 1168th richest person in the world. The Daily Telegraph declared that she became one of the world's youngest self-made women billionaires just at the age of 46. In 2021, she was the second-richest woman in China according to China Daily. According to Forbes, her net worth is around 10.1 billion USD in 2022.
Susan Wojcicki
(July 5, 1968- Present), Age: 53 years, American
Susan Wojcicki, a Polish-American business executive, is the CEO of YouTube. Forbes claimed that Susan supported the 1.65 Billion dollars proclamation of YouTube in 2006. At present, the company’s net worth is about 90 Billion Dollars. According to Forbes, she was the 12th most powerful woman in the world and 44th America's Self-made Woman in 2019.
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Sheryl Sandberg
(August 28, 1969-Present), Age 52 years, Washington, D.C., United States
Sheryl Sandberg, an American business executive, billionaire, and philanthropist. She is the COO of Facebook currently.
Time Magazine showed her as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world in 2012. She is also known as one of the most successful and famous female entrepreneurs in the world. According to Forbes, her net worth is around 1.8 billion USD in 2021.
Conclusion
So far, we have discussed 10 leading business women of the twenty-first century. These thriving women entrepreneurs have gained success through withstanding economic and business pressures. Many amazing success stories are to be heard from some of these wonderful women. We hope this article will encourage many more young girls and talented women to be entrepreneurs.
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