Money at the very top of the food chain is a moving target. If you’re checking your phone today to see who is the richest woman in the world, you’re probably expecting a single, solid name. But the reality is a bit more of a tug-of-war. For the last few years, the title has basically been a back-and-forth between two massive dynasties: the Waltons in America and the Bettencourt Meyers family in France.
As of early 2026, Alice Walton has reclaimed the top spot.
She’s the only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton. Her net worth has been hovering around a staggering $119 billion to $127 billion lately. It’s hard to wrap your head around that kind of cash. Honestly, most of it is tied up in Walmart stock, which has been performing remarkably well as the retail giant continues to dominate both physical stores and the e-commerce space.
But don't count out the runner-up.
The French Beauty Queen and the American Retail Titan
Right on Alice's heels is Françoise Bettencourt Meyers. If you’ve ever bought a tube of Maybelline mascara or a bottle of Lancôme perfume, you’ve contributed to her fortune. She is the granddaughter of the guy who started L’Oréal. For a while, she was actually the first woman to ever cross the $100 billion mark. Currently, her net worth is sitting somewhere near **$95 billion**.
The gap between her and Alice Walton usually depends on how people are feeling about the stock market on any given Tuesday. If luxury goods in Europe take a hit, Françoise’s numbers dip. If Americans start panic-buying groceries at Walmart, Alice’s net worth shoots up.
It’s a weird way to live, right? Having your "value" change by a billion dollars because of a quarterly earnings report.
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Alice Walton is a bit of an outlier in her family. While her brothers spent decades deep in the weeds of the Walmart corporate machine, Alice mostly stayed away from the day-to-day operations. She’s famously obsessed with the arts. She founded the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. It’s a massive, world-class institution in the middle of a town that most people couldn't find on a map without help.
Then you have Françoise. She’s famously private. You won't find her on a reality show or posting "get ready with me" videos. She’s an author. She’s written multi-volume commentaries on the Bible and books about Greek mythology. She spends her time playing the piano and managing the family's holding company, Téthys. It’s a very "old world" type of wealth—quiet, intellectual, and incredibly shielded from the public eye.
Why the rankings keep shifting in 2026
You might wonder why we can't just pick one and stick with it.
The global economy is currently a bit of a rollercoaster. Inflation, shifting consumer habits, and the rise of AI-driven logistics have changed how these big companies make money. Walmart has leaned hard into tech and delivery, which pushed its stock to record highs in late 2025 and into this year. That’s exactly how Alice Walton jumped back into the number one position.
L’Oréal, on the other hand, is the king of the "lipstick effect."
Economists always talk about how, even when the economy is bad, people still buy small luxuries like lipstick. It’s a way to feel good without spending thousands on a car. This has kept Françoise Bettencourt Meyers in the top tier for years. However, the luxury market in China has been a little shaky recently, which has kept L’Oréal’s stock from growing as fast as Walmart’s.
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The Rest of the Top Five
It’s not just a two-woman race. There are a few others who are basically a "good stock year" away from the top.
- Julia Koch: She inherited a huge stake in Koch Industries after her husband, David Koch, passed away. She’s worth about $81 billion. Unlike the others, her wealth is tied to a private company, so we don't see the daily price swings as clearly.
- Jacqueline Mars: If you like Snickers or M&Ms, you know where this money comes from. She owns about a third of the Mars candy empire. Her net worth is around $42 billion.
- Savitri Jindal: She’s a massive name in India, leading the Jindal Group (steel, power, etc.). Her fortune has exploded recently as India’s infrastructure grows, putting her at roughly $39 billion.
The Self-Made Myth vs. Reality
One thing that bugs people about the "richest woman" list is that it’s dominated by heiresses. It’s true. Most of the women at the very top inherited their initial stakes.
But "inheriting" doesn't mean they're just sitting on a pile of gold like a dragon.
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers has been on the L’Oréal board since the late 90s. She’s been pivotal in the company's acquisitions. Alice Walton’s work in the art world has completely changed the cultural landscape of the American South.
If you’re looking for the self-made icons, you have to look slightly further down the list. Rafaela Aponte-Diamant is a great example. She co-founded MSC (the shipping giant) with her husband. They started with one small ship. Now she’s worth nearly $40 billion. Then there's Abigail Johnson, the CEO of Fidelity Investments. Sure, her family started the firm, but she’s been the one running the show and pivoting the company into crypto and digital assets long before her peers did.
Does it even matter who is number one?
To most of us, the difference between $90 billion and $120 billion is purely academic. You can’t spend it all. You can’t even give it away fast enough. MacKenzie Scott (formerly Bezos) is a perfect example of that. She’s been trying to give her money away at a record-breaking pace, donating billions to non-profits with "no strings attached." Despite giving away more than $17 billion, her Amazon stock keeps growing, keeping her firmly in the billionaire club.
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The reason we track who is the richest woman in the world isn't just about the gossip. It’s about where the power is. These women control significant portions of the global supply chain, the beauty industry, the food we eat, and the art we see.
Actionable Insights for the Rest of Us
You probably won’t inherit a retail empire tomorrow. (If you do, please remember who wrote this). But there are a few things we can learn from how these fortunes are managed in 2026:
- Diversification is king, but focus creates the wealth. The Waltons are rich because of one thing: Walmart. Once they had the money, they diversified into art, professional sports teams (the Denver Broncos), and real estate.
- Long-term holding wins. Françoise Bettencourt Meyers doesn't day-trade her L’Oréal stock. She holds it. The wealth is built over decades, not days.
- Philanthropy is evolving. The trend moved from "naming a building after myself" to MacKenzie Scott’s style of "here is a check, go do good work." It’s a shift toward trust-based giving.
If you’re tracking these numbers for your own investment portfolio, keep an eye on consumer staples. Companies like Walmart and L’Oréal are resilient because people need to eat and people want to look good, regardless of what the Federal Reserve is doing with interest rates.
Alice Walton holds the crown for now, but in the world of centi-billionaires, the throne is never permanent. It only takes one bad holiday season or one massive stock buyback to flip the script entirely.
To stay truly informed, don't just look at the net worth. Look at the "source of wealth" column. That's where you see which way the world is actually turning—whether it's toward American retail, European luxury, or Indian industrialism.