The richest women in the world: From North America to Africa, female billionaires are making their mark in the economy

The world's richest female comes from North America as the inheritor of Wal-Mart fortune.

There are currently 2,325 billionaires in the world, according to the Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2014. 12.3 percent of the world's billionaires are female.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Ranging from 33-years-old to 92-years-old these successful females definitely made their mark in the economy.
 
Only 17 percent have made their own fortunes, leaving 65 percent as inherited billionaires, knowing someone in multinational corporations.

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The world's richest woman is North America's Christy Walton with $37.9 billion to her name. Christy Walton is the widow to Walmart founder Sam Walton's son, John Walton. Although the 59-year-old widow inherited her fortune, she herself has invested in film production, with "Bless Me, Ultima."

Europe's richest woman, Liliane Bettencourt is the second richest woman in the world. She has an estimated worth of $31.3 billion. 92-year-old L'Oreal heiress joined her father's cosmetics company as an apprentice at just 15-years-old.

Gina Rinehart takes the number three spot with $14.8 billion. Forbes describes Australasia's wealthiest female as the "queen of the global iron-ore trade." She controls Hancock Prospecting and had begun to expand her wealth with shares in Australian media organizations.

The daughters of Mexican billionaire, Carlos Slim take the coveted fourth, fifth and sixth places as world's richest women in Latin America. Vanessa, Maria and Johanna have reportedly been receiving pieces of their father's fortune since 2003, according to CNN. Slim recently became The New York Times' majority shareholder; this is likely to impact the girls' current worth of $6.3 billion each.

The youngest female billionaire belongs to Asia. 33-year-old, Yang Huiyan received 70 percent of her father's Chinese real estate shares in 2007 and now has a worth of $6.3 billion.

With $4.2 billion, Shari Arison inherited a fortune from her father, Ted Arison. The Arison's are the founders of the Carnival Corporation cruise company. The U.S.-born Israeli is now the richest female in the Middle East, and is the controlling share of Israeli bank Hapoalim.

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Self-made billionaire, Nigerian Folorunsho Alakija is the richest woman in Africa with $1.2 billion. She is an oil, fashion and printing tycoon, and owns Famfa Oil. Alakija is the richest black woman in the world, replacing Oprah Winfrey, according to Ventures Africa.

Together the richest females in the world have a combined wealth of $930 billion, and that number is expected to continue growing in 2015.

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