Who are the richest women in the world?

Spanish businesswoman Rosalia Mera,  co-founder of Zara, is the second richest woman in the world among those who have created their fortune through their own work, as shown in the latest list of billionaires compiled by Forbes magazine.

The 3.5 billion dollars of the former wife of businessman Amancio Ortega, earns her second place in the ranking with which the publication intends to recognize the richest "self-made women"  in the planet and is led by Wu Yajun, with a fortune of 3.9  billion.

"It helped that her then-husband, Amancio Ortega, made bathrobes and linen in their own home. That business became Inditex, one of the most successful textile groups in the world and owner of Zara stores," explain the list´s writers, which can be seen today on the Forbes website.

The magazine stresses that there are only fourteen women in the world with over one billion dollars through their own effort and not to other factors such as large inheritances.

Mera, is 66 years old  and still controls 7% of the textile group Inditex, is placed above other well-known multimillionaires such as the queen of American media, Oprah Winfrey and the successful British writer JK Rowling, creator of the novels starring the young wizard Harry Potter.

Oprah is in sixth position with 2.4 billion dollars, while Rowling, with one billion, closes the list that Forbes has made with the fourteen women and is dominated by Asian entrepreneurs.

Apart from the first position, occupied by real estate developer Wu Yajun, there are six other Oriental women in the list, such as Li Xiu Hawken, principal shareholder of Renhe Commercial Holdings (2.4 billion), and Chu Lam Yiu, President of Huabao International (2.1 billion).

Completing the Asian presence are Zhang Xin, real estate developer in Beijing (2 billion); Yan Cheung, "the queen of the paper business in China" (1.7 billion); Chan Laiwa (1.1 billion) also dedicated to real estate, and Lei Tibetan Jufang, with the same quantity of wealth.

It also highlights in third place the wife of the mayor of Moscow, Elena Baturina, with a fortune of 2.9 billion dollars, thanks to her work as founder of the plastic and construction production company Inteko, and her latest creation: Patriot construction, dedicated to affordable housing. 

In fourth place is Doris Fisher (2.4 billion), founder of the Gap clothing chain, which originated as a shop in San Francisco (California) and now has 3,000 stores, besides having served as a platform to create other successful chains in the United States, such as Old Navy and Banana Republic.

Another textile business, highlighted in seventh place is Italian Giuliana Benetton (2.1 billion), founded with her brothers Luciano, Carlo and Gilberto of the Benetton Group, creator of well-known brands such as United Colors of Benetton and Sisley .

The magazine notes that the presence of women among the billionaires who are there through their own effort represents only 2% of the total and compared to the fourteen women who have made a fortune of one billion dollars or more, there are 655 men who have achieved the same.