On a day when we hear of four female suicide bombers killing more than 57 people in Iraq, it’s refreshing to read in Forbes that the number of female billionaires is up. More interesting is the number who didn’t inherit the money, rather as entrepreneurs, built successful businesses.
According to a report in Forbes there are now 7 billionaire women under the age of 40, a big increase over last year when there were just 2. This bring to 20, the number of female billionaires under the age of 50.
Another interesting fact is that of the five female billionaires in their 30’s, four hail from Turkey.
According to the Forbes report, four of the woman made their own money: “ Chinese billionaire Zhang Xin, 43, worked in a factory stitching apparel in Hong Kong at age 14 before eventually getting a master’s at Cambridge University. Today she and her husband Pan Shiyi run one of China’s most successful property developers, SOHO China, known for its sleek and modern buildings across the country.”
What’s interesting is that these women made their fortunes in predominantly male dominated businesses, like construction, tobacco and real estate.
The 4th woman is perhaps the most famous of them all. According to the report: ”British novelist Joanne (J.K.) Rowling, 42, formerly a struggling single mother who lived on welfare. That was before she penned the immensely popular Harry Potter series about a boy wizard and eventually transformed herself into the world’s only billionaire author. ”
The fact that these women are young means that they have plenty of time to grow their enterprises and and take on corporate roles, and make a big impact on the global economy.
Aaron Katsman is Managing Editor of the Israel Opportunity Investor newsletter. He is lead portfolio manager for the Israel Growth Portfolio and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. For more information, go to www.israelnewsletter.com or call 1-888-327-6179, or email aaron@profile-financial.com.
