Celebrity Biographies
Youngest Homemade Women of 2016 by Forbes Magazine
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Susan Wojcicki
Alter – 48
Net worth (income and earnings) – $350 million
Susan Wojcicki has shown the same dedication and brilliance in running YouTube that she showed in climbing the ranks at Google. Your connection to the famous company goes far back to its origins. It was their Menlo Park garage that was made Google’s first office by founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The following year, she joined the company as its first Marketing Director. She is responsible for creating features like Google Images, Google Books and famous Google Doodles. She also developed Adsense, the company’s second-biggest revenue stream.
Her work with YouTube hasn’t been short of spectacular either. Since urging her bosses to buy a $1.65 billion video streaming service, she’s overseen it, raising the value to $70 billion. Also, it currently has more than 1 billion unique visitors per month.
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Sheryl Sandberg
Alter – 47
Net worth (income and earnings) – $1.42 billion
Sheryl is best known for her work with Facebook. But long before she joined Facebook, she proved her credentials as Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google. She is instrumental in launching Google’s philanthropic arm, Google.org. Before joining Google, she was Chief of Staff to US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers. She eventually met Mark Zuckerberg at a Christmas party, and a few months later, Facebook announced that Sheryl had been hired for the role of COO. Within two years she made Facebook profitable. Two years later, she became the eighth member of Facebook’s board of directors. She is the only female board member.
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Sara Blakely
Alter – 45
Net worth (income and earnings) – $1.03 billion
If Sara Blakely hadn’t failed the law school admission test, the women’s wardrobe might have been robbed of valuable shapewear. The Spanx has become a valuable commodity among dressing items. Not only can you feel more comfortable, but you can also enhance and accentuate your figure so you look your best. Sara stumbled upon the idea of creating Spanx while selling fax machines door-to-door. Her job required her to wear tights in the hot Florida climate. She hated when the seamed foot appeared in open-toed shoes, but loved the way it streamlined her body and eliminated those pesky panty creases. She spent the next two years and her life savings of $5000 researching and working on her idea. She then drove to North Carolina to pitch her idea to the stocking mills, but was turned down by every representative. Two weeks later, however, she received a call from a mill owner willing to back her up and rest as this is history.
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Tony Ko
Alter – 43
Net worth (income and earnings) – $260 million
Toni Ko worked for her parents’ beauty business after school, which gave her valuable experience to start her thriving business in the future. At the age of 25, she realized that there was a need for department store cosmetics at drugstore prices, and like any astute entrepreneur, she set about exploiting this gap. With her family’s seed capital and wholesale connections, she started NYX Cosmetics, offering high-end makeup at bargain prices. Ko has filled literally every position at her new company, and her company has generated $4 million in sales in its first year. In 2015, she sold her brand to L’Oreal for $500 million. After a short break, she started her new business in 2016.
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Adi Tatarko
Alter – 43
Net worth (income and earnings) – $300 million
Adi Tatarko proved that a lot of good can come from your difficulties. She co-founded home design site Houzz with her husband Alon Cohen after they struggled to come up with suitable remodeling ideas for their four bedroom home in Palo Alto, California. They first started their project as a scrapbook where you can collect and save different house remodeling and design ideas. It has added more than 40 million monthly users over the years and has more than a million professionals listed. Adi and her husband still retain around a third of their stake in their company, with venture capital estimated to be worth over $2 billion.
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Marissa Mayer
Alter – 41
Net worth (income and earnings) – $430 million
Although Yahoo has been sold to Verizon, it appears the deal will not negatively impact Marissa Mayer’s position as CEO. She has announced that she intends to remain in her current position, which some reports say will come at a significant cost. The reports say she would be willing to receive a $55 million severance package if she were dropped from her position under the contract. However, with her immense net worth, she won’t be too disappointed and who knows how much she will be compensated for staying in her position.
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Jessica Alba
Alter – 35
Net worth (income and earnings) – $340 million
After a successful acting and modeling career, Jessica began a new journey in 2011 by founding the Honest Company, which aimed to provide non-toxic home goods. It started out largely as an e-commerce site offering baby wipes and diapers. Hundreds of other products have since been added, including new makeup and skincare lines. The ride was not smooth, however, as the company received complaints about the presence of toxic ingredients in many products. Jessica was defiant and steadfast in defending her business.
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Beyoncé
Alter – 35
Net worth (income and earnings) – $265 million
Beyoncé maintained her strong presence in the music industry and was hugely successful with her new album. As expected, Lemonade has performed terrifically on the music charts, becoming their sixth number one album and has been an amazing success in terms of sales too. While there were rumors of problems in her marriage, she used those rumors to spread the word about her album. She has earned over $50 million from the concerts she has given in support of her album.
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Sophia Amoruso
Alter – 32
Net worth (income and earnings) – $280 million
Sophia has made her e-commerce site Bad Girls a mainstay in the industry and a fierce competitor for the established players. She founded her business at the age of 22, initially selling vintage items to young consumers. Almost a decade after starting, Sophia remains a very dedicated CEO and instrumental in the day-to-day running of the company. She recently opened two stores in LA.
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Taylor Swift
Alter – 26
Net worth (income and earnings) – $170 million
Taylor Swift is firmly establishing itself as the major player in the music industry. Most recently, she broke the North American touring record set by the famous Rolling Stones with her 1989 world tour, raising more than US$200 million on the continent. Her endorsement of brands like Diet Coke, Keds and Apple helps her keep money flowing into their bank accounts, and her strong presence on various social media platforms makes her a valuable brand.