The women on the 2026 Forbes 400 grew significantly wealthier over the past year, adding a combined 82 billion dollars to their fortunes. As a group, the 62 women on the list of the richest Americans are now worth 954 billion dollars, up from 872 billion in 2025. That total leaves them just 46 billion short of the 1 trillion dollar mark, a threshold the group could cross within the next year if markets hold steady.
Alice Walton remained the wealthiest woman in the country and the only one whose fortune tops 100 billion dollars. The Walmart heir was valued at 118 billion, a sum built on her stake in the retailer her father founded. Her position at the top has held firm as the company’s shares have climbed, keeping her well ahead of the other women on the ranking.
Julia Koch and her family placed second at 84.6 billion dollars, followed by candy heir Jacqueline Mars at 50.3 billion. Abigail Johnson, who runs the investment giant Fidelity, ranked fourth at 41.6 billion, and Marilyn Simons and her family came next at 36.6 billion. Much of the wealth held by women on the list traces back to inheritance, though a growing share has been earned directly.
One of the year’s most closely watched additions was Daniela Amodei, the president and co-founder of the artificial intelligence company Anthropic. She entered the ranking at 15.5 billion dollars, making her the youngest woman on the Forbes 400 and the second-richest self-made woman in the country. Her debut reflects how quickly the boom in AI has created new fortunes.
Despite the gains, women still account for only about 16 percent of the full list, a reminder that the highest tiers of American wealth remain dominated by men. The record entry price of 4.4 billion dollars this year raised the bar for everyone, and several women who appeared in past editions were pushed off. Even so, the steady rise in their combined total points to a slow shift in who holds the country’s largest fortunes.
