Forbes magazine recently reported on the world’s richest moms, detailing the phenomenon of raising children and managing some of the richest companies.
The publication said that Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay and current chief of Hewlett-Packard, has two sons, and estimated that she is worth nearly $2 billion. According to Forbes, she has said that she derives inspiration from her children.
Erin Carlyle of Forbes said that “her family is not a source of stress to her but a source of support,” according to Yahoo Finance. “She has two sons who both went to Princeton like she did and I think for her family is something that keeps her grounded and helps her with her endeavors instead of holding her back.”
Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs, has around $10.7 billion, and has three children, who are rarely seen or heard. “She has three children and you don’t really hear about them. Her eldest child’s first debut to the press was on a quiz show when he used his mother’s maiden name,” Carlyle added.
And in contrast, Gina Rinehart, the richest Australian, who has a net worth of $17 billion, has publicly battled with her children over her family trust. Her children initiated legal action to prevent the delay of the trust, which is slated to happen in around 50 yeras.
“She fired back, describing their privileged lives and reportedly suggesting they were slackers in need of real employment,” Carlyle wrote in a post on Saturday.
Carlyle points out that there are 3,300 people in the world who have a billionaire father, but only 305 with a billionaire mother.
“Burch is one of just 108 billionaire moms, by our count, and one of less than two dozen who made their fortunes on their own and didn’t inherit wealth from their fathers, grandfathers, husbands or moms,” she wrote.
Fashion billionaire Tory Burch, who is worth around $1 billion, said that her “children are off limits,” adding that “my personal life is off-limits.”
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