Women connected to some of the world’s biggest businesses continue to occupy prominent positions among the planet’s wealthiest people, with fortunes built through inheritance, ownership stakes and, in some cases, businesses they helped establish.

According to Forbes’ real-time billionaire data around October 3, 2026, Walmart heiress Alice Walton ranked as the world’s richest woman. Her fortune was estimated at more than $115 billion, although the exact figure can change from day to day as publicly traded assets fluctuate. Forbes lists Walmart as her primary source of wealth.

Here are the women and families at the top of the ranking referenced in the report:

1. Alice Walton — Walmart

Alice Walton, the only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, has built her fortune around the family’s stake in the retail giant.

Forbes describes Walton as having focused much of her attention on art and philanthropy rather than taking the same corporate route as her brothers Rob and Jim Walton. She founded the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, in 2011, where works by prominent American artists are displayed.

Forbes also notes that Walton welcomed the first class of students at the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in Bentonville in 2025.

2. Françoise Bettencourt Meyers and family — L’Oréal

Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, granddaughter of L’Oréal founder Eugène Schueller, derives most of her fortune from the family’s ownership stake in the French cosmetics company.

Forbes says Bettencourt Meyers and her immediate family own more than one-third of publicly traded L’Oréal. She served on the company’s board from 1997 until 2025, when her son Jean-Victor Meyers succeeded her as vice chairman. Her other son, Nicolas Meyers, is also a director.

The value of the family’s fortune moves with L’Oréal’s share price, meaning the precise figure reported by Forbes can change frequently.

3. Julia Koch and family — Koch, Inc.

Julia Koch and her three children inherited a 42 per cent stake in Koch, Inc. following the death of her husband, David Koch, in 2019.

Forbes identifies Koch, Inc. as the primary source of Julia Koch’s wealth. Koch moved to New York in the 1980s and worked as an assistant to fashion designer Adolfo before her marriage.

The Koch family has also expanded its investments beyond its core industrial holdings. Forbes reports that Julia Koch and her children acquired a 15 per cent stake in BSE Global in 2024 and that the family acquired a 10 per cent stake in the NFL’s New York Giants in 2025.

4. Jacqueline Mars — Mars

Jacqueline Mars is a member of the family behind Mars, the privately held company whose businesses extend across confectionery, food and pet care.

Her wealth comes primarily from her ownership interest in the family business. Mars worked for the company for nearly two decades and served on its board until 2016.

The wider Mars family controls a large multinational business whose portfolio includes well-known confectionery and pet-care brands.

5. Iris Fontbona and family — Antofagasta

Chilean billionaire Iris Fontbona inherited a major business fortune following the death of her husband, businessman Andrónico Luksic, in 2005.

The family's principal business interests include mining, with Fontbona and her family controlling Antofagasta, the London-listed company whose operations include copper mining in Chile.

Her fortune therefore remains closely connected to the value of the family's mining and other business assets.

6. Rafaela Aponte-Diamant — MSC

Rafaela Aponte-Diamant stands out among the women on the list because she built her fortune through the shipping industry alongside her husband, Gianluigi Aponte.

The couple are co-owners of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), one of the world's largest container shipping businesses.

Their business story began in the 1970s when they entered the shipping industry by purchasing a vessel. The company subsequently expanded into a major global shipping group, providing the foundation for the family's enormous fortune.

7. Abigail Johnson — Fidelity Investments

Abigail Johnson is chairman and chief executive of Fidelity Investments, the financial-services company founded by her grandfather, Edward C. Johnson II.

She became Fidelity's chief executive in 2014 after succeeding her father and became chairman in 2016. Forbes lists Fidelity as the main source of her wealth and estimates that she owns about 29 per cent of the company.

Fidelity's scale has made Johnson one of the most prominent women in the global financial-services industry.

8. Savitri Jindal and family — Jindal Group

Indian businesswoman Savitri Jindal is associated with the O.P. Jindal Group, whose interests include steel, power, cement and infrastructure.

She inherited her business interests following the death of her husband, industrialist Om Prakash Jindal, in a helicopter crash in 2005.

The family's business interests were subsequently divided among their four sons, who operate separate parts of the broader Jindal business empire.

9. Marilyn Simons and family — Simons Foundation

Marilyn Simons inherited much of her fortune from her late husband, Jim Simons, the mathematician and founder of Renaissance Technologies.

Jim Simons, who died in 2024, built his wealth through quantitative investing and the hedge-fund firm he founded.

Marilyn Simons has also been involved in philanthropy and chairs the Simons Foundation, which supports research and education, particularly in mathematics and the sciences.

10. Melinda French Gates — Technology and investments

Melinda French Gates, the former Microsoft executive and prominent philanthropist, is also among the world's wealthiest women.

Forbes identifies Microsoft as the source of her fortune. Her wealth was significantly affected by the financial settlement following her 2021 divorce from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

French Gates left the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2024 after more than two decades as its co-chair. She subsequently continued her philanthropic activities through her own organisation and other initiatives.

The ranking highlights the diverse origins of the fortunes held by the world's wealthiest women. While several inherited stakes in family businesses, others accumulated or expanded their wealth through entrepreneurship, corporate leadership, investment and business ownership.

It is also important to note that Forbes' real-time billionaire rankings are not fixed. Changes in share prices, exchange rates, private-company valuations and other assets can move an individual's estimated net worth and ranking from one day to another. Forbes' own profiles illustrate these fluctuations, with Alice Walton, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers and Julia Koch showing different real-time figures on different September dates.

Reporting by TalkNaijaMedia