Liliane Bettencourt
Net worth: $30 billion
Country: France
Source of wealth: L’Oreal
At age 90, Liliane Bettencourt is the world's richest woman, and enters the top ten list of the world's wealthiest people for the first time since 1999. She and her family own over 30% of L'Oreal, which her father founded.
Christy Walton
Net worth: $28.2 billion
Country: United States.
Source of wealth: Wal-MartChristy
Walton's net worth reached new highs as Wal-Mart stock jumped in 2012. She remains the richest woman in the United States.
Christy inherited her wealth when husband John Walton, a former Green Beret and Vietnam war medic, died in an airplane crash in 2005.
Alice Walton
Net worth: $26.3 billion
Country: United States.
Source of wealth: Wal-MartWal-Mart
Heiress Alice Walton reportedly gave $1.7 million to a Washington D.C. charter schools initiative alongside fellow billionaires Bill Gates, Paul Allen and Steve Ballmer. The Walton family's most generous philanthropist, her ambitious Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark., opened in 2011 featuring works donated from her personal collection--which is valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Iris Fontbona
Net worth: $17.4 billion
Country: Chile
Source of wealth: MiningBillionaire
Andronico Luksic died of cancer in 2005, leaving his business empire in the care of his wife, Iris Fontbona, and his three sons: Jean-Paul, Andronico, and Guillermo Luksic. The Luksic family controls Antofagasta, one of the world's largest copper miners.
Georgina Rinehart
Net worth: $17 billion
Country: Australia
Source of wealth: MiningAustralian
Mining magnate Gina Rinehart is still the richest woman in the Asia-Pacific region, even though falling iron ore prices have shaved $1 billion off her net worth.
Jacqueline Mars
Net worth: $17 billion
Country: United States
Source: Mars Inc.
Mars candyJacqueline Mars and her two brothers, John and Forrest Jr, are the third generation to own Mars, Inc. The siblings inherited the company in 1999 when their father died. Mars is the largest candy company in the world, with an estimated $33 billion in sales, thanks in part to its $23 billion acquisition of gum maker Wrigley's in 2008.
Susanne Klatten
Net worth: $14.3 billion
Country: Germany
Source of wealth: BMW
Susanne Klatten, Germany's richest woman, inherited a 12.6% stake in automaker BMW from her late father Herbert Quandt, who rescued the company from bankruptcy decades ago. Susanne, her brother Stefan Quandt and her mother Johanna Quandt together own nearly 50% of BMW, which has continued to grow despite weakness in Europe thanks to sales in the United States and China.
Abigail Johnson
Net worth: $12.7 billion
Country: United States
Source of wealth: Money management
Abigail Johnson was named president of Fidelity Financial Services, which oversees the asset management, brokerage and retirement and benefits services units of Fidelity Investments in August 2012. This makes Abby (as she is popularly called) one of the most powerful women in finance and the leading candidate to take over the CEO seat when her father, 82 year-old Edward "Ned" Johnson, steps down.
Miuccia Prada
Net worth: $12.4 billion
Country: Italy
Source of wealth: PradaFashion
Legend Miuccia Prada runs the luxury goods and clothing company Prada with her husband Patrizio Bertelli.
The granddaughter of the company's founder is the lead designer, while Bertelli handles the business side as CEO.
The design house is expanding: 2012 saw new store openings in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait, and they're reportedly seeking a partner to enter India.
Anne Cox Chambers
Net worth: $12 billion
Country: United States
Source of wealth: Media
Anne Cox Chambers is the surviving daughter of Cox Enterprises founder James M. Cox (d. 1957). Today the company includes Cox Communications (cable), Cox Media Group (newspapers, TV and ration stations), Manheim (car auctions), and AutoTrader.com.
In January the company cancelled plans to take AutoTrader.com public, citing current market conditions. At age 93 Chambers continues to sit on the board.