New York: Two Indian-origin women have featured on the Forbes’ annual list of America’s 60 wealthiest and most successful self-made women entrepreneurs who have “crashed ceilings through invention and innovation”. India-born Neerja Sethi, who co-founded IT consulting and outsourcing firm Syntel with her husband Bharat Desai, is ranked 16th on ‘America’s Richest Self-made Women’ list while president and CEO of Arista Networks Jayshree Ullal (55) is ranked 30th.
According to Forbes, the richest self-made woman in America is Diane Hendricks, the owner of ABC Supply, the largest wholesale distributor of roofing and siding in the country. Hendricks is now worth $4.9 billion, $1.2 billion more than last year when she was ranked second. The second annual tally of America’s wealthiest, most successful self-made women includes 60 trailblazers — 10 more than last year. The 60 women, who are worth a combined $53 billion, have created some of the nation’s best known brands such as Gap and Spanx, while a number of them have also helped build some of the most successful companies in tech, including Facebook, eBay and Google.
Ms Sethi (61) has a net worth of $1.1 billion. Her company employs more than 25,000 people and boasts a recent market capof $3.6 billion. She is currently the vice-president of corporate affairs, a role she has had since the company’s inception. She also sits on the board of directors alongside her husband, who remains the chairman. Born in London, raised in New Delhi, Ullal has a net worth of $470 million. She became president and CEO of Arista Networks in 2008, when it had no revenues and fewer than 50 employees. The company reported $838 million in revenue in 2015, after going public in June 2014.
Other notable names on the list include TV czar Oprah Winfrey, who moved up three spots to number two and has a new worth of $3.1 billion. Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg’s fortune is now $1.4 billion, up a third from a year ago making her one of the year’s biggest gainers.
