Diane Hendricks is the richest self-made woman in America in 2026, with an estimated net worth of $21.7 billion from ABC Supply. Daniela Amodei, cofounder of Anthropic, ranks second with $15.5 billion, while Epic Systems founder Judy Faulkner ranks third with $9.6 billion. Forbes lists a record 43 self-made female billionaires this year, with a combined wealth of $166 billion. 

Forbes updates its list of America’s richest self-made women every June. The 2026 ranking shows how new fortunes are being created across different industries. 

For the first time, the list includes only women who are billionaires. It highlights growing wealth from artificial intelligence, along with long-established businesses in industries such as pizza, packaging, and trucking. 

The number of self-made female billionaires in the U.S. continues to grow each year. Here is a simple breakdown of the top 10 richest self-made women in America in 2026 and how they built their fortunes. 

Top 10 Richest Self-Made Women in America (2026 Ranking)

Here is the full list of America’s richest self-made women this year, including their industries and how they built their fortunes. 

1. Diane Hendricks – Estimated Net Worth: $21.7 Billion

Diane Hendricks has ranked first on this list for nine years in a row. She co-founded ABC Supply with her late husband, Kenneth. The company became North America’s largest wholesale distributor of roofing, siding, and windows. 

Hendricks became a mother at 17 and once worked as a Playboy Bunny to support her child. Today, she also invests in real estate, manufacturing, and logistics, helping her wealth continue to grow. 

2. Daniela Amodei – Estimated Net Worth: $15.5 Billion

Daniela Amodei, cofounder and president of the artificial intelligence company Anthropic, made the biggest jump on this year’s list. She climbed from rank 28 to rank 2 in a single year, as Anthropic’s valuation soared past $965 billion.

Her path into technology was unusual. She studied English literature at UC Santa Cruz, worked as a political staffer, and later joined her brother at OpenAI before helping launch Anthropic in 2021. Her rapid rise shows how quickly artificial intelligence can create massive new fortunes.

3. Judy Faulkner – Estimated Net Worth: $9.6 Billion

Judy Faulkner founded Epic Systems, a healthcare software company, in 1979. Today, its health-record software is used by many major U.S. hospitals, including Johns Hopkins and Mayo Clinic. 

Faulkner plans to give away most of her wealth during her lifetime instead of passing it on to her children. Her long-term work in healthcare technology has made her one of the most consistent earners on the list. 

4. Thai Lee – Estimated Net Worth: $8 Billion

Thai Lee is CEO and co-owner of SHI International, one of the largest privately held IT providers in the country. The company serves major clients such as Boeing and AT&T, and now brings in about $15 billion in annual revenue.

Born in Bangkok and raised largely in South Korea, Lee earned her MBA from Harvard Business School. She and her former husband bought the small software reseller that became SHI for under $1 million back in 1989.

5. Marian Ilitch & Family – Estimated Net Worth: $7.6 Billion

Marian Ilitch cofounded Little Caesars Pizza with her late husband Mike in 1959. The chain now generates more than $5 billion in annual systemwide sales.

Ilitch’s parents immigrated from Macedonia, and she grew up working in her father’s restaurant. Beyond pizza, she owns the Detroit Red Wings and MotorCity Casino Hotel, while an Ilitch family trust owns the Detroit Tigers.

6. Elizabeth Uihlein – Estimated Net Worth: $6.9 Billion

Elizabeth Uihlein and her husband started shipping and packaging distributor Uline in their basement back in 1980. The company now employs about 9,000 people.

Uline sells more than 43,000 products to businesses across the country. The Wisconsin-based business has grown steadily for over four decades, largely by expanding its own catalog rather than buying up competitors.

7. Jayshree Ullal – Estimated Net Worth: $6.8 Billion

Jayshree Ullal has been the president and CEO of Arista Networks since 2008. Born in London and raised in India, she is one of the leading Indian American women in U.S. business. 

Under her leadership, Arista’s revenue has grown to more than $9 billion, nearly 30% higher than the previous year. Ullal is also one of the few Asian American women to rank among the top 10 on this list. 

8. Johnelle Hunt and Eren Ozmen – Estimated Net Worth: $6.7 Billion (Tied)

Two entrepreneurs from different industries share the No. 8 spot this year. 

Johnelle Hunt, 94, co-founded J.B. Hunt Transport Services with her late husband in 1969. She still owns the largest individual share in the company.

Eren Ozmen, a Turkish immigrant, bought the aerospace and defense company Sierra Nevada Corporation with her husband in 1994. At the time, the company had only 20 employees. Today, its Sierra Space division is developing the Dream Chaser spaceplane.

10. Peggy Cherng – Estimated Net Worth: $6.5 Billion

Peggy Cherng is a billionaire computer scientist and the co-founder, co-chair, and co-CEO of Panda Express. Born in Myanmar and raised in Hong Kong, she earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and worked as a software engineer before entering the restaurant business.

In 1983, she and her husband, Andrew, opened the first Panda Express. Cherng used her technology skills to improve the business with computerized systems for sales, inventory, and supply chains. These systems helped the company grow quickly while staying privately owned.

Her business and technology skills helped turn Panda Express into a global brand with thousands of locations. She also supports education, healthcare research, and engineering through her philanthropic work.

Full Top 10 Ranking Table

Note:  Figures are Forbes’ 2026 snapshot estimates, based on stock price data from June 1, 2026, and private-company comparisons. The estimated net worth can move as market prices change between updates.

Which Industries Made Them Rich?

Technology is by far the biggest source of wealth among the richest self-made women in America. About 20 of the 43 women on the list, close to half, built their fortunes in software, hardware, or artificial intelligence.

The rest of the wealth spreads across food and beverage, logistics, aerospace, and media. Great self-made fortunes are still being built well outside Silicon Valley. Executives have also built substantial wealth without founding their own companies. Meta’s longtime executive Sheryl Sandberg is a well-known example of a self-made woman whose fortune came from leading someone else’s company rather than starting her own.

Some of the largest fortunes in earlier editions of this list came from unexpected corners of the economy. Judy Love built Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, a chain of gas stations and travel centers, into a multibillion-dollar business with her late husband. For years, she ranked among the wealthiest self-made women in the country.

• Technology: about 20 of 43 women, led by Amodei, Faulkner, Lee, and Ullal.
• Food and beverage: Ilitch, Resnick, and Panda Express cofounder Peggy Cherng.
• Logistics and industrial supply: Uihlein and Hunt.
• Aerospace and defense: Ozmen and SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell.
• Media and entertainment: Oprah Winfrey, Taylor Swift, and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter.

Where Do Celebrity Names Like Oprah, Taylor Swift, and Beyoncé Rank?

Several of the most-searched names in American wealth appear further down the full 43-woman list rather than in the top 10.

Oprah Winfrey ranks 16th with an estimated net worth of $3.4 billion, built through her media and production empire. Taylor Swift ranks 23rd with an estimated $2 billion, largely earned through her music catalog and the record-breaking Eras Tour.

Reality star and Skims founder Kim Kardashian ranks 25th with an estimated $1.9 billion. Beyoncé Knowles-Carter crossed the billion-dollar threshold this year after her Cowboy Carter tour, and Rihanna holds a similar fortune. Both women carry an estimated net worth of $1 billion.

New and Rising Self-Made Billionaires to Watch

Not every woman on the list has been wealthy for years. Forbes also highlights new and young self-made women billionaires, and 2026 brought several new names. 

Luana Lopes Lara, a former ballerina and cofounder of prediction-market company Kalshi, became the world’s youngest self-made woman billionaire at age 29. Her estimated net worth reached $2.6 billion in December. She took the title from Lucy Guo, cofounder of AI data company Scale AI, after the company’s value increased sharply. 

Other new billionaires include Caryn Seidman-Becker, CEO of Clear Secure, which uses biometric technology for airports, healthcare, and stadiums. Nvidia CFO Colette Kress also joined the billionaire ranks as strong demand for artificial intelligence helped drive Nvidia’s stock higher. 

5 Things to Know About America’s Richest Self-Made Women

• A record 43 women made the 2026 list, and all of them are billionaires.
• Diane Hendricks has stayed at No. 1 for nine years in a row.
• Daniela Amodei made the biggest jump, rising from No. 28 to No. 2 after Anthropic’s value increased sharply.
• Two Indian American women, Jayshree Ullal and Neerja Sethi, made the list. Both work in technology.
• California has the most women billionaires, with about 16 of the 43 living there.

Lessons Learned From America’s Richest Self-Made Women

A few clear patterns show up across the stories of these self-made women billionaires.

• Timing matters: Daniela Amodei’s wealth grew quickly because she was in the AI industry during its rapid growth.
• One industry can build great wealth: Diane Hendricks, Judy Faulkner, and Marian Ilitch built their fortunes over decades by focusing on one main business.
• Success is not limited to Silicon Valley: Building supplies, pizza, packaging, and trucking also created some of the biggest fortunes this year.
• Executives can become billionaires: Sheryl Sandberg and Gwynne Shotwell built huge fortunes as top executives without starting their own companies.
• Immigrants play a big role: Thai Lee, Eren Ozmen, and Jayshree Ullal moved to the U.S. and built successful private companies from the ground up.

Conclusion

The 2026 list of America’s richest self-made women shows a major shift in wealth. A record 43 women are now self-made billionaires, with their combined wealth reaching an all-time high. 

Diane Hendricks remains at the top after nearly 10 years. Daniela Amodei has seen the fastest growth in wealth, showing how AI is creating new fortunes in America. These women built their wealth in industries such as building supplies, healthcare, pizza, and prediction markets. Unlike inherited wealth, their fortunes came from years of hard work and building successful businesses. 

Related reading: for more on global wealth trends, see our guides to how many billionaires are in the world and the richest women in the world.

Tejas Jadhav

FAQs

Who is the youngest self-made woman billionaire in the world?

Luana Lopes Lara, cofounder of prediction-market platform Kalshi, became the youngest self-made woman billionaire in the world this past December, at age 29.

What is the difference between this list and the richest women in the world?

This list covers only self-made women who built rather than inherited their wealth in the United States. The broader richest-women-in-the-world ranking also includes heiresses, so different names top that list entirely.

How many self-made women billionaires are there in the United States?

Forbes counted a record-breaking 43 self-made women billionaires in the United States for 2026. That is up from 38 the year before and just 12 when the list began in 2015.