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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The woman who will soon be richer than Bill Gates

You probably haven't heard of Gina Rinehart — the 57-year-old Australian widow — but you'll know the people her wealth is set to eclipse.
Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Carlos Sim are currently rated as the richest people alive by Forbes magazine, while Lakshmi Mittal is the UK's richest person and sixth-richest overall.
But Rinehart is about to leapfrog them all to the top of the list - and become the first woman to ever hold the number one spot.
Where her money's come from
Rinehart was a recently widowed mother of four in her 30s when she inherited her father's debt-laden mining firm. But she wasn't new to the business world.
She had been groomed to inherit the family firm from the age of 12 and, since taking over, has quietly gone about making it one of the world's biggest operations.
In the last year alone her fortune has more than doubled to £6 billion — making her the richest person in Australia. But that is just the start.
An investigation by US banking giant Citigroup into her new mining operations showed her wealth is only just beginning to blossom, and could increase tenfold in the next few years.
"If Rinehart was a company listed on the ASX [Australia Stock Exchange] and valued using the same 11-times price-to-earnings ratio as her partner, Rio Tinto, she would be worth $30 billion (£19 billion), putting her in the top 10 of the Forbes rich list," calculated Australian business site SmartCompany.
"Rinehart, however, has three more mines on the way, and potentially more in the exploration phase.
"If Rinehart's three new projects … match the performance of Hope Downs, and if mineral prices stay high (two big assumptions) it is possible to see Rinehart's portfolio of coal and iron ore production spinning off annual profits approaching $10 billion.
"If those best guesses prove to be correct, Rinehart is heading for a personal net worth valuation of more than $100 billion (£63 billion)."

6 women who built their wealthy fortunes from scratch

Female entrepreneurs often have it tougher than their male counterparts when seeking to rise to the top in the business world. They often face barriers that would make a lesser person give up. These challenges can come in the form of discrimination or having a lack of capital.
A number of female entrepreneurs have been able to overcome these challenges and rise to the top of the corporate ladder. Let's take a look at six female entrepreneurs that were able to build fortunes without a lot of cash.
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey's story is truly a rags to riches experience. She was able to overcome a childhood of extreme poverty to build a fortune valued at over £1.55 billion. Winfrey's determination led to her becoming the first African American female news anchor before the age of 20 and eventually become the host of the wildly successful 'Oprah Winfrey Show'.
She has managed to build a media empire through sheer determination and perseverance. Oprah Winfrey has the Midas touch and has been able to find success in movies, television and literary works. She has used her significant resources to launch her own network titled, the Oprah Winfrey Network.
JK Rowling
Very few people knew that the Harry Potter creator used to be a broke single mother before she revealed it in an interview. Rowling relied on welfare to survive before coming up with her signature character, Harry Potter.
All of her circumstances changed when she published her first novel in 1997. Harry Potter became an instant hit leading to several book deals, movies and toy product sales  books.
[See also: Britain's richest women]
Ursula Burns
Ursula Burns did not let a poor upbringing deter her from her goal of becoming a female chief executive. She excelled at maths and science at a time when women were being dissuaded from taking these courses.
Burns used her academic prowess to land an internship at Xerox. She proceeded to work her way up the company ladder using ingenuity and hard work. Today, Burns is the chief executive at Xerox which makes her the first African American chief executive of a Fortune 500 Company. Quite an accomplishment considering of America's top 500 companies, there are only 16 women chief executives.
Indra Nooyi
Indra Nooyi did not grow up poor but she did come from a self-described "humble middle class" environment in India. Nooyi has risen from her humble beginnings to be voted the most powerful woman of the year in 2010 by Fortune Magazine.
She demonstrated her strong work ethic by working as a receptionist at night to find money to pay her college tuition. All of her effort paid off as she landed positions at top firms Johnson & Johnson and Motorola upon graduation. Nooyi is now the chief executive at PepsiCo earning more than £6 million last year.
Zhang Xin
The story of Zhang Xin is an inspiration to anyone anywhere. She grew up poor in China and worked in a factory for years until saving enough money to leave her homeland and attend college.
After graduating from college, her fortunes changed as she went to work for investment firm Goldman Sachs. She eventually branched out and started her own property development company known as SOHO. Her property management company became wildly successful giving Xin a net worth of £1.2 billion today. Not bad at all for a self-made woman.
Olivia Lum
Olivia Lum has worked since her early years in Malaysia when she got a job as a rubber tapper to help pay her adopted family's bills. Lum managed to work during her formative years while attending school at the same time.
She eventually rounded up £10,000 by selling her possessions to start a water treatment company called Hyflux. Lum's ambition made Hyflux a success and Lum a very wealthy woman. She is one of the 20 richest people in Singapore with a net worth of over £200 million.
The bottom line
As you can see from these examples, you do not have to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth to find success. These entrepreneurs were able to use their intellects and skills to reach the top of the business marketplace.