{"id":256730,"date":"2026-06-05T19:47:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:47:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/256730\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T19:47:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:47:43","slug":"meet-americas-43-self-made-billionaire-queens-of-capitalism-plus-questions-to-ask-before-turning-your-hobby-into-a-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/256730\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet America\u2019s 43 Self-Made Billionaire Queens Of Capitalism. Plus: Questions To Ask Before Turning Your Hobby Into A Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is this week\u2019s ForbesWomen newsletter, which every Thursday brings news about the world\u2019s top female entrepreneurs, leaders and investors straight to your inbox. Click here to get on the newsletter list!<\/a><\/p>\n

This week marked the launch of our annual list of America\u2019s Richest Self-Made Women<\/a>, and unlike prior editions of this ranking, the 2026 list focuses just on those with ten-figure fortunes. And from rocket ships and AI chips to construction and chatbots, America\u2019s self-made female billionaires have found dozens of ways to prosper.<\/a><\/p>\n

A record 43 self-made billionaire queens of capitalism made the list, up from 38 a year ago, despite the passing of two legendary women, Gap cofounder Doris Fisher (d. May 2026 at age 94) and Bio-Rad Laboratories\u2019 Alice Schwartz (d. September 2025, at age 99). Among the new billionaires on the list: Beyonce Knowles-Carter<\/a>, who climbs into the ranks on the back of her 2025 Cowboy Carter Tour, which grossed more than $450 million in ticket sales and merchandise; and Caryn Seidman-Becker<\/a> who runs Clear Secure, an ID tech outfit used for security checkpoints at airports and, increasingly, at stadiums and doctors\u2019 offices. (Read more about her in the featured story below.)<\/p>\n

The combined net worth of these entrepreneurs, executives and celebrities stands at a record $166.3 billion. The top ten account for $96 billion of that sum; that\u2019s more than triple the total worth of the top ten on our inaugural list in 2015<\/a>\u2014roughly on par with the 333% return of the S&P over the same period.<\/p>\n

I recommend checking out the whole package, which you can view here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cheers!<\/p>\n

P.S.: The nominations form for the 2026 50 Over 50 list<\/a> will close on Sunday night, so if you haven\u2019t nominated yourself or someone you admire for this sixth annual flagship list, please do so now! Don\u2019t overthink it, either; this survey is meant to be completed in just seven minutes.<\/p>\n

Exclusive Forbes Profile: Caryn Seidman Becker Bought Clear Out Of Bankruptcy. Now She\u2019s A Billionaire.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think people continually underestimate how hard traveling is and how much people want help in travel,\u201d says Clear CEO Caryn Seidman Becker, 53, who bought the company\u2019s assets and 190,000 people\u2019s fingerprints for $6 million when it went bankrupt during the financial crisis. Today you can use it at 60 American airports. The New York City\u2013based firm, which went public in 2021, now has a market cap of $7.6 billion, transla\u00adting into a more than 1,000% return for Seidman Becker and her initial investors. Her 14.5% stake is worth $1.1 billion, making her one of America\u2019s 44 self-made female billionaires.<\/a><\/p>\n

ICYMI: News Of The Week<\/p>\n

Close up of woman holding pink ribbon for breast cancer awarness. Detail of female hand holding pink awareness ribbon. Young woman supporting living with women’s breast tumor.<\/p>\n

getty<\/p>\n

Over the last several weeks,<\/a> AstraZeneca has received a series of FDA approvals for drugs treating breast cancer\u2014and it marks a potentially new phase in understanding this devastating disease. Susan Galbraith, head of oncology R&D at AstraZeneca, joined ForbesWomen editor Maggie McGrath to discuss the treatments that were approved and what they mean for patients with breast cancer<\/a>. “The opportunity to make transformational change in cancer has never been more possible,” Galbraith says.<\/p>\n

After a decade of blowouts, family infighting and $300 million down the hole, Gloria Moncrief fulfilled her promise to drill one of the deepest, riskiest natural gas wells\u2014ever. Moncrief is the head of Montex Drilling Company, the family business that owns Moncrief Oil and has been spending $300,000 a day to rent the rig and staff it around the clock with 60 folks working 12-hour shifts, 14 days on, 14 days off, all to drill the second-deepest natural gas well ever in the U.S. The well was recently completed after 389 days of drilling. But will it pay off for Moncrief?<\/a><\/p>\n

Just 17 months after emerging from stealth, two-time entrepreneur and former Y Combinator partner Surbhi Sarna has raised $95 million for Collate, which developed AI tools to automate life sciences paperwork, at a valuation approaching $1 billion<\/a>. Redpoint Ventures led the deal, which brings Collate\u2019s total funding to $125 million. <\/p>\n

What is the actual dollar cost of burnout? How much is a worker\u2019s wellbeing truly worth to an organization? Dr. Carylynn Kemp Larson is an organizational psychologist and leadership educator who wanted to answer these questions with precision\u2013and so she built a tool called the ROI Estimator. It’s now publicly available for coaches, consultants, and organizational leaders who want to move beyond anecdotes when making the case for people investments<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Speaking of burnout\u2026 According to the Motherhood Index 2026, 61% of mothers describe their well-being as “good,” but within that same population, 93% experience burnout, 70% get fewer than five hours of unbroken sleep a night<\/a>, and nearly half needed mental or physical health support last year they didn’t adequately receive. Those numbers don’t contradict each other; they explain each other. A generation of mothers has quietly redefined “good well-being” to include an unsustainable structural load. <\/a><\/p>\n

The Checklist<\/p>\n

1. Get a prenup. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce will almost certainly have a prenuptial agreement in place before they say \u201cI do,\u201d but these agreements are not just for the billionaires among us. <\/a>In fact, among the unhitched, 40% of millennials and 52% of GenZers said they were \u201cvery\u201d or \u201csomewhat\u201d likely to enter into a prenuptial agreement in the future. <\/p>\n

2. Figure out if you\u2019re living on autopilot. Contrary to what some may think, emotional disconnection does not always present as obvious sadness. Sometimes it even looks productive. Possible signs include major achievements feeling surprisingly flat;<\/a> constantly anticipating the next obligation; and feeling more relief than joy after accomplishing goals.<\/p>\n

3. Ask yourself four questions before turning your hobby into a business. For some people, turning a hobby into a business can create freedom and meaningful work. But when every private interest becomes something to package or sell, people risk losing one of the few places where they can simply exist without being evaluated. Here are the honest questions you should ask yourself before making the jump.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Quiz<\/p>\n

The White House is hosting an MMA fight dubbed \u201cUFC Freedom 250\u201d on its South Lawn this month, on President Donald Trump\u2019s 80th birthday. Hundreds of active military members are expected to attend, but only if they meet which of the following physical requirements? <\/p>\n

No facial hairA shoulder-to-waist ratio of at least 1.618A waist-to-height ratio of 0.55 or lessAble to complete 100 consecutive pushups <\/p>\n

Check your answer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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