The World's Wealthiest Women: Fascinating Biographies of Heiresses, Royals, Entrepreneurs, and Entertainers

Fortunes and Fates—The Untold Stories of the World’s Richest Women

Where wealth meets destiny, tragedy often follows.

Heiresses have always dazzled with their unimaginable wealth, the cornucopia of fortune spilling opportunity at their feet. Yet, The World’s Wealthiest Women reveals through intimate historical biographies that the fates of these women were often woven with threads of tragedy by the weaving sisters of destiny.

Gilded cages or golden destinies? Whether these women amassed their billions through inheritance, marriage, or sheer ambition, their vast fortunes shaped lives that were anything but ordinary.

From the author of Behind Every Great Man, The World’s Wealthiest Women unveils the stories of women destined for privilege through birth or marriage, only to face lives rivaling the sorrows of Russian tragic heroines. These are the nonfictional Richard Corys—women whose silver spoons often rusted, far from happily ever after.

• Hetty Green: Known as “The Witch of Wall Street,” her wealth rivaled the Gilded Age’s Robber Barons, but her miserly ways outshone even Scrooge.
• Helena Rubinstein: From a Polish shtetl to the throne of a global cosmetics empire, this diminutive giant redefined beauty and power.
• Evalyn McLean: Her Great Dane once roamed her mansion with the Hope Diamond on its collar, a glittering symbol of her opulent yet cursed life.
• Basia Johnson: A Polish refugee maid turned mega-rich heiress, her rags-to-riches tale inspires, though not without its shadows.
• Honey Sheran: Married to pharmaceutical titan Barry Sherman, her sweet life ended in tragedy as Canada’s tenth-richest couple fell victim to a double homicide.
• Wendi Deng Murdoch: Fleeing China’s Bamboo Curtain, she secured a fortune through marriage to media mogul Rupert Murdoch, crafting a life of limitless horizons.
• Clare Bronfman: Heiress to the Seagram fortune, her $100 million gift to NXIVM led to a six-year, nine-month prison sentence for her role in the cult.

The World’s Wealthiest Women is a riveting exploration of privilege, power, and the poignant realities behind the fortunes.