The global tech space, as we know it today, is still largely male-dominated for a variety of reasons. However, several women have shattered the glass ceilings and secured their place at the top of the engineering pyramid.
As of today, these are the top 5 richest women in the tech world:
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Whitney Wolfe Herd ($1.2 billion)
Known as the youngest self-made female billionaire, Whitney Wolfe Herd is the CEO and co-founder of the dating app Bumble. The 32-year-old billionaire founded the dating app in 2014 after working with one of the biggest dating apps, Tinder.
She was able to start Bumble with help from an early investor, Russian billionaire Andrey Andreev, who also had a stake in Badoo, which she also runs. However, Andreev sold his stake in both apps to investment company Blackstone in November 2019.
Whitney became a billionaire after making Bumble public on NASDAQ. At the debut of its listing, Bumble gained a whopping 71 percent in the markets.
Currently, Whitney is valued at $1.2 billion as she owns a 21 percent stake in Bumble. As of March 2021, Bumble and Badoo will be active in 150 countries with 2.8 million paying users.
Jenny Just ($1.5 billion)
After starting out as an options trader in Chicago, Jenny Just founded PEAK6 Investments in 1997 with $1.5 million in seed capital as a private options trading company. Today, it is a multi-billion dollar financial services and technology company with an average annual return of 57%.
Apex Fintech Solutions, the 53-year-old’s star investment, provides back-end trading and technology for fintechs such as SoFi, Ally, eToro and WeBull. Apex Fintech Solutions is going public through a SPAC merger that values the company at $4.7 billion.
Sheryl Sandberg ($1.9 billion)
Sheryl Sandberg, 51, is one of the most powerful women in technology today. She has been Chief Operating Officer at Facebook since 2008, dramatically increasing the revenue of the social media company. Prior to Facebook, Sheryl was vice president of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google.
She has served as chief of staff for the US Treasury Department under President Clinton, as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, and as an economist at the World Bank. Sandberg serves on the boards of Facebook, ONE and SurveyMonkey.
Thai Lee ($4.1 billion)
Thai Lee, 63, is the CEO of SHI International, an IT provider that provides program assistance, reporting and tracking, configuration, software licensing and information technology asset management services. SHI international, with more than 20,000 customers, serves customers around the world, including Boeing and AT&T.
When she co-founded SHI in 1989, it was a $1 million software vendor. Today, it is the largest minority/female enterprise in the US, with 2020 sales exceeding $11 billion for the first time.
Meg Whitman ($6.1 billion)
Meg Whitman, worth $6.1 billion, is a Silicon Valley veteran. She is most recognized for growing eBay from $5.7 million to $8 billion in revenue as CEO from 1998 to 2008 before leaving the company as a billionaire.
From 2011 to 2015, she served as Chief Executive Officer for a buffet of multibillion-dollar technology companies, including Hewlett-Packard, where she oversaw the split into HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. She is also a board member of Procter & Gamble and General Motors.
