The 20 richest women in the world, ranked

Alice Walton, Julia Koch, and Françoise Bettencourt Meyers are among the richest women in the world. Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for The J. Paul Getty Trust; Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images; Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images For Institut de l'Audition Billionaires are getting richer — and it's no different for the women. The richest among them are heiresses and own stakes in some of the world's biggest companies. Here is a ranking of the 20 richest women in the world, according to Forbes. Whether they're founders or heiresses to some of the world's biggest companies, most of the world's richest women saw their wealth grow over the past year. The sources of their fortunes span a range of industries, from cosmetics to building supplies, and most of the top 20 hail from the US. This ranking and additional information were compiled from Forbes' World's Billionaires List .