Top 10 Richest Billionaire Heiresses
Emily Bell Quick Links
Some of us are born rich, while some of us are just born. Better luck in the next life for you. As for those who entered this world already rich, who are the wealthiest women born into affluent families? What do they do with their time, and what philanthropist pursuits are they interested in?
10. Ivanka Trump – Net worth: $2 billion
The daughter of business magnate Donald Trump and his wife Ivana Trump, Ivanka first ventured into fashion modeling and walked down the runway dressed in designs by Versace, Marc Bouwer and Thierry Mugler before dipping her toes into her father’s vast business empire. She would also later start her own jewelry line, Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry.
She has also appeared in several reality TV shows like The Apprentice and talk shows like The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the Late Show with David Letterman.
When not making money, she serves as the spokeswoman for Girl Up, a United Nations Foundation program that helps young women in developing countries.
9. Aerin Lauder – Net worth: $2.6 billion
Heiress to the Estée Lauder brand of skin care, hair care, makeup and fragrance products, Aerin Lauder is keeping herself busy carrying on her grandfather’s legacy and is currently the creative director and senior vice president for the Estée Lauder brand. The brand has recently decided to branch out into fashion accessories and Aerin is at the forefront of this shift.
The heiress confesses she is usually in a rush, especially in the morning, that she cannot even enjoy a proper breakfast, she just drinks coffee and picks over the remains of her children’s breakfasts.
She is also a member of the Junior Associates Committee of the Museum of Modern Art.
8. Holly Branson – Net worth: $ 4 billion
Holly Branson was in her second year of training as a junior doctor when she decided to abandon her career and join her father’s business empire. Who is her father? Virgin group of companies owner Sir Richard Branson. Yes, that billionaire who had a photoshoot of himself surfing with a naked supermodel clinging to his back.
It might be she also inherited some of his eccentricities; she ran the London Marathon tied to a bungee cord with 30 other people. Nevertheless, “Team Caterpillar” broke the record for the number of most people tied together completing a marathon and raised more than $200,000 for charity.
7. Roshni Nadar – Net worth: $ 4.2 billion
As his only child, Roshni Nadar took over the business of her father Shiv Nadar when she was 27. She is now the Chief Executive Officer and executive director of the HCL Corp., a technology and IT enterprise company that has business ventures in over 31 countries.
Before inheriting her father’s business empire she graduated with a major in TV, radio and film from Northwestern University and also worked with CNN and Sky News. She also graduated with an MBA in social enterprise management and strategy from Kellogg University.
Away from her business ventures, she enjoys music, travelling and practices yoga. She is also active in charities.
6. Jennifer Woo – Peter Woo and family net worth: $4.3 billion
While Jennifer chose to be an entrepreneur like her father, Peter Woo, she chose another field of business entirely. Peter Woo made his business with real estate and currently multiple investment properties and housing units in Hong Kong, Jennifer chose instead to go retail and is now the president of Lane Crawford, a leading HK department store.
Jennifer spent $38 million redesigning the flagship stores of Lane Crawford, turning it from traditional into modern and chic. In 2008 she was named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the top 10 women to watch in Asia.
Business is not the only thing she spends time and money on. She is also into philanthropy and has spearheaded a charity auction for the benefit of UNICEF’s Driving Dreams Foundation.
5. Dylan Lauren – Net worth: $4.6 billion
Dylan is daughter of fashion designer Ralph Lauren, but she would not make her name with fashion, but rather candy. When she was five years old she watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and was inspired to open her own line of candy. The result was Dylan’s Candy Bar which now has five stores in the U.S. selling over 5,000 kinds of candy.
Despite dealing with candy on a daily basis she has managed to keep herself fit and was named one of the 25 most stylish New Yorkers by U.S. weekly in 2007. Among her favorite fashion brands are Alice and Olivia, 7 For All Mankind and, of course, her father’s. In fact, Ralph Lauren designed the gown she wore when she married Paul Arrouet in 2011.
4. Nisa Godrej – Adi Godrej and family net worth: $5.2 billion
The youngest daughter of Indian retail giant Adi Godrej, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. is an Indian consumer good company that specializes in various products including soap, hair care, toiletries and detergents. Nisa first started out as a trainee at Godrej Sara Lee (later rebranded Godrej Household Products) before rising up the ranks to land the top job at Godrej Consumer Products.
She has a BSc degree from The Wharton School and an MBA from Harvard University. She was credited with creating a five-year plan to bring the company more growth, which led to eight acquisitions between 2009 and 2011. She is now poised to take over from GCPL director A. Mahendran.
3. Silvana and Roberta Armani – Net worth: $5.3 billion
You might be able to say sisters Silvana and Roberta Armani, nieces of fashion designer Giorgio Armani, were cut from the same cloth as their uncle. The two have a genuine interest in his business and their talents are being put to use by the company.
The business-savvy Roberta is now the director of public relations and VIP, tasked to be the face of their business and deal with their key clients, while the creative Silvana is now the creative director of the women’s line of Emporio Armani.
Outside normal work, both sisters also find time to do charity work. They are contributors to the Product Red initiative and raise money for AIDS awareness campaigns.
2. Andrea Soros – Net worth: $14 billion
The daughter of Hungarian-American business magnate George Soros, Andrea is currently a member of the board of Acumen Fund.
Fond of philanthropy work like her father, Andrea Soros is also the founder of the Trace Foundation, a group that helps develop Tibetan communities in China. Soros went to China as a volunteer teacher and was impressed by the people she met there and their culture. That foundation also established the Latse Contemporary Tibetan Cultural Library in New York.
1. Emma Bloomberg – Net worth: $18 billion
Emma Bloomberg is the daughter of current mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg, and also the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg L.P., a global financial data company.
When she was 22, Emma deferred graduation from Princeton University to help her father in his 2002 campaign for mayor after he won she took an unpaid entry-level position as Mayoral Program Coordinator and later worked her way up through the ranks while also getting her MBA and MPA from Harvard University.
She is now the Senior Planning Officer for New York City’s Robin Hood Foundation, a foundation against poverty, and is also a contributing board member to the Young Lions of New York Public Library and Stand for Children.
