You’d think the person holding the title of richest woman in America would be a household name, someone you see on TikTok or in every headline. But honestly? The woman at the top of the heap is someone who spent decades dodging the spotlight to focus on horses and oil paintings.
As of early 2026, Alice Walton is the wealthiest woman in the United States.
With a net worth hovering around $120 billion, she’s not just rich—she’s “own your own museum and a few mountain ranges” rich. The money, as you might have guessed, comes from a little-known family business called Walmart. While her brothers, Rob and Jim, stuck to the boardroom, Alice took her billions and headed to the Ozarks to build a legacy that looks nothing like a retail warehouse.
How Alice Walton Reclaimed the Throne
For a few years, it was a bit of a horse race. You had MacKenzie Scott (formerly Bezos) and Julia Koch frequently swapping spots. But the stock market is a fickle beast.
Walmart’s continued dominance in the grocery and e-commerce sectors has pushed Alice’s fortune to levels that are honestly hard to wrap your head around. In 2025, she officially surpassed Françoise Bettencourt Meyers (the L'Oréal heiress) to briefly become the richest woman in the world, not just the U.S.
Basically, while the rest of us were worrying about inflation and the price of eggs, the Walton family's stake in their retail empire just kept ballooning.
The Breakdown of the Billion-Dollar Club
If you look at the top tier of American wealth right now, the names are familiar but the numbers are staggering:
- Alice Walton: ~$120 billion (Walmart)
- Julia Koch: ~$81 billion (Koch Industries)
- Jacqueline Mars: ~$42 billion (Mars Inc. - yes, the candy)
- MacKenzie Scott: ~$32 billion (Amazon)
- Abigail Johnson: ~$31 billion (Fidelity Investments)
Note that these numbers fluctuate daily. If the stock market sneezes, Alice might lose a billion in a morning, but she’s probably not checking her banking app with any real anxiety.
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The Outsider Heir: Not Your Typical CEO
Most people assume the richest woman in America would be a hard-charging executive. That’s not Alice. She’s famously stayed away from the day-to-day operations of Walmart. She’s not sitting in Bentonville headquarters arguing about supply chains or "Always Low Prices."
Instead, she’s spent her life as a curator.
In 2011, she opened Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas. It cost hundreds of millions to build and houses some of the most iconic pieces of American history, from Norman Rockwell to Andy Warhol. She didn't just buy the art; she fundamentally changed the cultural landscape of the South.
The New Frontier: Medicine and Wellness
Recently, she’s shifted her focus from canvas to clinics. The Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in Bentonville welcomed its first class of students in 2025. It’s a massive project aimed at "whole-person" health.
It's kinda interesting when you think about it. You have this woman who inherited a fortune built on mass-market retail, and she’s spending the twilight of her career trying to reinvent how American doctors are trained. It’s a level of "doing whatever I want" that only $120 billion can buy.
What About MacKenzie Scott?
You can’t talk about the wealthiest women in the U.S. without mentioning MacKenzie Scott. Her story is the polar opposite of Alice Walton’s.
Scott got her wealth from the 2019 divorce from Jeff Bezos, but she’s been on a mission to give it all away as fast as possible. Since the divorce, she’s donated over $19 billion to thousands of non-profits.
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Honestly, it’s a fascinating contrast.
- Alice Walton is the "Institutionalist." She builds massive, permanent things like museums and medical schools that bear her name.
- MacKenzie Scott is the "Disruptor." She writes "no-strings-attached" checks to small charities and grassroots organizations, often without them even asking for it.
Because Scott gives away money so aggressively, her rank on the "richest" list keeps dropping. But in terms of influence? She’s arguably more powerful than those with twice her net worth.
Julia Koch: The Silent Powerhouse
Then there’s Julia Koch. She inherited a 42% stake in Koch Industries after her husband, David Koch, passed away in 2019.
If Alice Walton is the "Artist" and MacKenzie Scott is the "Philanthropist," Julia Koch is the "Socialite-turned-Strategist." She’s much more active in the New York social and philanthropic scene, donating heavily to medical research (like the Julia Koch Clinic for Food Allergy at Mount Sinai).
She’s also a major player in real estate. We’re talking about $100 million penthouses and sprawling estates that make "luxury" look like a modest word.
Why We Care (And Why It’s Complicated)
Looking at the list of the richest women in America, there’s one glaring detail you can't ignore: almost all of them inherited their wealth. Unlike the men’s list—which is dominated by "self-made" (a term used loosely in billionaire circles) tech founders like Musk, Bezos, and Zuckerberg—the top of the women’s list is mostly composed of heiresses.
- Alice Walton: Inherited from her father (Sam Walton).
- Julia Koch: Inherited from her husband (David Koch).
- Jacqueline Mars: Inherited from her father (Forrest Mars Sr.).
- Abigail Johnson: Inherited (and grew) the family business (Fidelity).
Abigail Johnson is a bit of an outlier here because she actually runs the company. She’s been the CEO of Fidelity since 2014 and the Chairperson since 2016. She’s a legit "worker billionaire" who has steered the company through the rise of crypto and zero-commission trading.
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The Future of the List
Is the "Richest Woman" title going to change anytime soon?
Probably not. Walmart’s stock is incredibly resilient. Unless Alice decides to follow MacKenzie Scott’s lead and start dumping $10 billion a year into charities, she’s going to stay at the top.
However, keep an eye on women in tech. As AI companies continue to explode in valuation, we might eventually see a female founder break into that $100 billion stratosphere. But for now, the crown stays in Bentonville.
Actionable Takeaways for Following the Wealth Gap
If you’re tracking these rankings for investment or personal interest, here’s how to stay updated:
- Watch the WMT Ticker: Alice Walton's net worth is almost entirely tied to Walmart stock. If the stock goes up 5%, she "makes" several billion dollars.
- Follow the "Giving Pledge": Most of these women (except the Mars family) have signed the Giving Pledge, promising to give away at least half their wealth. Tracking their donations gives you a better idea of their actual influence than their bank balance.
- Look Beyond the Top 5: The most "self-made" growth is happening further down the list, with founders in fintech and biotech.
The ranking of the richest woman in America is more than just a scoreboard. It’s a reflection of how wealth moves through generations and how the biggest names in the country choose to spend their quiet billions. Whether it’s through art, candy, or 1-day shipping, these five women basically own a significant slice of the American experience.
To track real-time changes, you can monitor the Bloomberg Billionaires Index or the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list, both of which update daily based on market closes. Following the quarterly earnings of Walmart (WMT) and Amazon (AMZN) will also give you a head start on who's gaining or losing ground before the official lists are even published.