Alice Walton, the richest woman in the U.S. for the fourth year in a row: $118 billion dollars
The 62 women on the Forbes 400 total $954 billion, $82 billion more than in 2025, and Daniela Amodei, cofounder of Anthropic, enters as the youngest on the ranking.
A lice Walton is once again the richest woman in the United States. The Walmart heiress has reached an estimated fortune of $118 billion, about $12 billion more than a year ago, according to the 2026 Forbes 400, the list of the country's 400 largest fortunes. Forbes attributes much of the increase to the more than 10% rise in Walmart shares. Her lead over second-place Julia Koch is about $33 billion. Koch's wealth, linked to Koch Inc., amounts to $84.6 billion
The most relevant figure is in the classification as a whole: the 62 women who are part of the list together hold $954 billion , compared with $872 billion in 2025 . The increase is $82 billion, and it comes in a year in which the minimum net worth required to enter the general list reached a record $4.4 billion.
Walton widens her lead over Julia Koch
Walton, 76, ranks first for the fourth consecutive year and for the eleventh time in the last 12 editions. Forbes attributes much of the increase in her fortune to the more than 10% rise in Walmart shares.
Koch and her family are linked to the conglomerate Koch Inc., while Walton's wealth comes from the family stake in Walmart. Third place goes to Jacqueline Mars, with 50.3 billion, coming mainly from the family business related to food and pet products.
Abigail Johnson ranks fourth with 41.6 billion . The Fidelity chair is followed by Marilyn Simons and her family, with 36.6 billion ; Melinda French Gates, with 34.6 billion ; Miriam Adelson and her family, with 33.5 billion ; Elaine Marshall and her family, with 32.2 billion; Lyndal Stephens Greth and her family, with 30.0 billion; and MacKenzie Scott, with 27.9 billion .
The origin of these great fortunes is diverse. The list includes wealth linked to retail, technology, finance, energy, casinos, and the food industry. Altogether, the 62 women represent 17 different economic sectors; food and beverages is the most represented, with 14 members, followed by technology, with 10.
Daniela Amodei joins the Forbes 400
The main new development among the women appearing in the Forbes 400 is related to artificial intelligence. Daniela Amodei, president and co-founder of Anthropic , entered the ranking with an estimated fortune of $15.5 billion. At 39, she also became the youngest woman on the list and, according to Forbes, the second-richest self-made American woman.
Amodei's entry came after Anthropic raised $65 billion in a deal that put the company's valuation at $965 billion , according to data compiled by Forbes. Three other women joined the list in 2026: Catherine Commisso, with $5.2 billion; Wendy Abrams, with $4.7 billion; and Jennifer Gilbert, also with $4.7 billion.
62 women account for $954 billion
The number of women on the Forbes 400 remained unchanged from 2025 despite the growth of large fortunes: there are still 62, around 16% of the total. However, their combined wealth increased from $872 billion to $954 billion, an increase of $82 billion in one year.
Only 13 of the 62 women are classified by Forbes as self-made entrepreneurs . Diane Hendricks, cofounder of ABC Supply, leads that group with an estimated fortune of $23.6 billion.
The $954 billion accumulated by the women of the Forbes 400 leave them $46 billion short of jointly reaching the trillion-dollar mark. Meanwhile, the minimum net worth required to enter the overall ranking reached a record $4.4 billion in 2026.
