Who is the Wealthiest Woman in America in 2026?

The wealthiest woman in America in 2026 is Alice Walton — and her net worth sits at roughly $115 billion. Not $10 billion. Not $50 billion. $115 billion, from a Walmart stake she never had to work a day at the company to earn. The richest women in America come from wildly different worlds — retail dynasties, casino empires, hedge funds, Amazon divorce settlements. This post breaks down all 10 names, their numbers, and what actually makes them that rich.

Top 10 Richest Women in America (2026)

Alice Walton

Net Worth: ~$115 Billion | Wealth Source: Walmart

First place and it's not close. Alice Walton has a net worth of around $115 billion, which puts her in the top 20 richest people on the entire planet — not just richest women, richest people, period.

She's Sam Walton's only daughter. Her brothers Rob and Jim stayed in the business and sit on Walmart's board. Alice went a completely different direction. She poured over $1.2 billion into the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, which opened in 2011. Then in 2025, she dropped at least $250 million into the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine — the school's first class of 48 students enrolled that same year. The woman could have just sat on her fortune. She didn't.

Julia Koch

Net Worth: ~$72.3 Billion | Wealth Source: Koch Industries

Second place goes to Julia Koch at $72.3 billion — a number that sounds made up but very much isn't.

Her husband David Koch died in 2019 and left her and their three kids a 42% stake in Koch Industries. If you don't know Koch Industries, it's one of the biggest privately held companies in the US — manufacturing, energy, finance, all of it. Julia also has an ownership stake in the New York Giants, which is a detail most people don't know. She keeps a relatively low profile for someone worth over $70 billion.

Jacqueline Mars

Net Worth: ~$45.5 Billion | Wealth Source: Mars Inc.

Jacqueline Mars is worth roughly $45.5 billion, and the source of that money is something most people eat multiple times a week without thinking about it.

She owns around 30% of Mars Inc. — the company behind M&Ms, Snickers, Skittles, and Pedigree dog food. Mars is one of the biggest family-owned businesses in the world and it's still privately held, which is part of why this name doesn't come up as often in wealth conversations. Jacqueline served on the board for close to two decades before stepping back. The candy money just keeps compounding.

Miriam Adelson

Net Worth: ~$37.9 Billion | Wealth Source: Las Vegas Sands

Miriam Adelson clocks in at $37.9 billion and is one of the most powerful figures in the casino world right now.

Her husband Sheldon Adelson built Las Vegas Sands into a global empire — luxury casino resorts in Vegas, Macau, and Singapore — before he passed away in 2021. Miriam inherited a controlling stake and has run with it. She's also well known for major political donations on the Republican side. The combination of casino wealth and political influence puts her in a very different category from everyone else on this list.

Abigail Johnson

Net Worth: ~$35 Billion | Wealth Source: Fidelity Investments

Abigail Johnson is worth approximately $35 billion and is one of the few people on this list who actually shows up to an office.

She's been CEO of Fidelity Investments since 2014. Fidelity manages over $14 trillion in assets. Yes, trillion. She's the granddaughter of the company's founder Edward C. Johnson II, so there's still an inheritance element here — but she also runs the thing. That combination of inherited ownership and active leadership makes her net worth story a bit different from the purely passive names on this list.

MacKenzie Scott

Net Worth: ~$33.9 Billion | Wealth Source: Amazon / Philanthropy

MacKenzie Scott sits at $33.9 billion — which is actually lower than it would be if she hadn't given away over $19 billion.

When her divorce from Jeff Bezos finalized in 2019, she walked away with roughly $40 billion in Amazon shares. Most people expected her to just hold onto it. She started donating at a scale nobody had seen before — universities, nonprofits, food banks, social causes. Despite all of it, her net worth has stayed significant because of continued appreciation in her equity holdings. For more on how wealth and cultural influence overlap at this level, the breakdown of the richest musicians in the world is worth a read.

Marilyn Simons

Net Worth: ~$31 Billion | Wealth Source: Hedge Funds / Simons Foundation

Marilyn Simons has a net worth of approximately $31 billion, and her name is one of the lesser-known ones on this list — which is kind of wild given the number.

Her husband Jim Simons built Renaissance Technologies, the hedge fund that is widely considered the most successful in history. He died in 2024. Marilyn inherited the bulk of the estate. The two of them had been serious philanthropists for years before that, giving hundreds of millions to education and scientific research through the Simons Foundation. The name doesn't get the same press coverage as someone like MacKenzie Scott, but the wealth is real.

Melinda French Gates

Net Worth: ~$30.4 Billion | Wealth Source: Microsoft / Gates Foundation

Melinda French Gates has a net worth of around $30.4 billion, and her post-divorce path has been one of the more interesting ones to follow.

She received significant Microsoft shares and other assets when her marriage to Bill Gates ended in 2021. After stepping down from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2024, she launched Pivotal Ventures — her own firm that invests in women-owned businesses and gender equity initiatives. Women operating at this wealth level often build asset portfolios that include luxury goods as long-term stores of value, and diamond watches are one of the most recognized examples of that.

Diane Hendricks

Net Worth: ~$21.9 Billion | Wealth Source: ABC Supply

Diane Hendricks is worth approximately $21.9 billion, and she's the one name on this list where the story really is a grind-and-build one.

She co-founded ABC Supply with her husband Ken Hendricks — a wholesale distributor of roofing, siding, and windows. Not glamorous. Not tech. Roofing. When Ken died in 2007, she took over and turned it into one of the largest building supply distributors in the country. She holds the title of richest self-made woman in America, and given that most of the names above her on this list inherited their wealth, that title means something. The richest self-made content creators are another group who built everything from scratch — different industry, same principle.

Elaine Marshall

Net Worth: ~$28.3 Billion | Wealth Source: Koch Industries

Elaine Marshall has an estimated net worth of $28.3 billion, and she might be the most under-the-radar name on this entire list — which is genuinely hard to pull off when you're worth nearly $30 billion.

She inherited her position after her husband E. Pierce Marshall died in 2006. Pierce was the son of J. Howard Marshall II, one of the earliest and most significant investors in Koch Industries. Through that original family stake, Elaine and her two sons now hold around a 16% beneficial interest in Koch Industries — one of the largest privately held companies in the United States, spanning oil refining, chemicals, paper products through Georgia-Pacific, and finance. She has sat on Koch's board of directors since 2006 and is based in Dallas. No press tours. No social media presence. Just $28 billion quietly compounding in a private conglomerate that most people have never directly thought about. As a side note: Anna Nicole Smith was technically her step-mother-in-law through the Marshall family legal battles, which is a sentence that requires a second read.

Richest Women Across the Americas — Latin, North and South America

The US dominates this conversation, but the rest of the Americas has real money too. Quick breakdown by region.

Richest Woman in North America

Alice Walton, $115 billion. It's not even a competition. No other woman in North America is in the same zip code of wealth.

Richest Woman in Latin America

Iris Fontbona from Chile holds the title of richest woman in Latin America with an estimated net worth of $25.8 billion.

She inherited her fortune in 2005 after her husband, copper magnate Andrónico Luksic Abaroa, passed away. The money comes mainly from Antofagasta PLC — one of the world's biggest copper producers — and the Quiñenco conglomerate, which covers banking, beverages, and infrastructure. Latin America's wealthy class is growing, and celebrities who wear moissanite jewelry increasingly come from this part of the world as luxury culture expands across the region.

Richest Woman in South America

Iris Fontbona also takes the South America title. Chile is in South America, so she covers both regions. Her copper and conglomerate empire is the main driver.

Brazil's Vicky Safra is worth mentioning as another major figure. She inherited the global Safra banking empire from her husband Joseph Safra, with assets that include the Gherkin building in London and a major office complex on Madison Avenue in New York.

Conclusion

Alice Walton is running away with the top spot in 2026 at $115 billion, and it's not close. Most of the richest women in America got here through inheritance — Walmart stock, Koch Industries, Mars Inc., casino empires. But Diane Hendricks and Abigail Johnson show that self-made success at this level is possible too. The full picture is a mix of old money, divorce settlements, hedge fund estates, and businesses built from scratch. If you want to shop the kind of luxury moissanite jewelry and women's moissanite watches that move at the top end of the market, explore the full range at Glazed Diamonds.

FAQs

Who is currently the richest woman in America? 

Alice Walton. She's sitting at around $115 billion in 2026, almost entirely from her Walmart stake. Nobody else is close.

Who is the richest women in America? 

In 2026, the top ten are Alice Walton, Julia Koch, Jacqueline Mars, Miriam Adelson, Abigail Johnson, MacKenzie Scott, Marilyn Simons, Melinda French Gates, Diane Hendricks, and Elaine Marshall.

Who is the 4th wealthiest woman in America? 

Miriam Adelson, at $37.9 billion. She inherited a controlling stake in Las Vegas Sands after Sheldon Adelson's death in 2021 and has been running that empire ever since.

Who is the richest self-made woman in America? 

Diane Hendricks, at $21.9 billion. She built ABC Supply from the ground up with her late husband and took full control after he passed in 2007. On a list dominated by heiresses, she's the clearest self-made story.

Who is the youngest richest woman in America? 

Lucy Guo became the youngest self-made female billionaire in the United States in 2025 at 30 years old. She built Scale AI and Passes, both in the machine learning and creator monetization space.

Who is the richest Black woman in America? 

Oprah Winfrey, at roughly $3.2 billion, built through media, production, and brand investments. Rihanna comes in behind her at approximately $1.4 billion — driven by Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty — and holds the title of youngest self-made female billionaire of her era.