By Faith Barbara N Ruhinda & Dr. Kivumbi Earnest Benjamin, L.H.D (Hon.) at 1337 EAT on Friday 5 June 2026

The Forbes World’s Billionaires ranking remains heavily male-dominated, though the share of women among the world’s richest individuals continues to rise.

This year, 481 of the world’s 3,428 billionaires are women, representing 14% of the list—up from 406 female billionaires, or 13.4%, in the previous year’s ranking.

The world’s richest woman for the second consecutive year is Walmart heiress Alice Walton, with an estimated net worth of $134 billion. Her fortune has been boosted in part by strong revenue and profit growth at Walmart, which this year marked its 64th anniversary. The retail giant’s shares have surged 41% since the last assessment of global wealth for the annual ranking.

Walmart recently appointed John Furner as its new chief executive in February. He takes charge at a time when the company has reached a $1 trillion market capitalisation, just days after his appointment, raising expectations for continued growth.

French L’Oréal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers ranks second among the world’s richest women, with an estimated fortune of $100 billion, followed by Julia Koch, widow of industrialist David Koch (d. 2019), in third place with an estimated $81.2 billion.

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