The 10 Richest Women of All Time (I) 古往今來最富有的十個女人（上）

克麗·克洛斯 周坤

Historically， women have had a tough time getting rich.

Everything from male primogeniture rules to laws preventing women from holding property have limited the number of female tycoons through the ages. The few that did amass large fortunes typically inherited them from men in their family. “Women with huge personal wealth are a modern phenomenon，” says Walter Scheidel， a professor of ancient history at Stanford University.

Which is why， when we compiled a ranking of the 10 richest people in history last year， the list featured only men. That ranking was challenging in its own way—comparing the wealth of individuals across different eras and geographies in an apples-to-apples way isn’t easy—so we borrowed a technique developed by the historians and economists at MeasuringWorth， which compares an individual’s wealth to total global economic output at the time， but in addition， we’ve chosen to focus on only those women who went beyond just inheritance and took an active business or political role in managing their fortunes， even if they originally acquired them from fathers or husbands. So you won’t find women like Walmart widow Christy Walton and heiress Alice Walton， who have never had a hand in the day-to-day operations of the company.

You also won’t see wealthy royals like English monarchs Victoria and Elizabeth I on the list， or Egyptian queen Nefertiti. While each controlled power and money aplenty， none held a sufficient share of the world’s riches to make the cut. Similarly， in modern times， billionaire business tycoons like Oprah Winfrey1 and Theranos2 founder Elizabeth Holmes—with fortunes of $3 billion and $4.5 billion， respectively—aren’t flush enough relative to global GDP to be included.

To compile our list， we consulted nearly 30 historians and researched dozens of likely candidates. What follows is a meticulous—if debatable—ranking of the wealthiest women in history.

1. Empress Wu

Lived： 624—705 AD

Nation： China

Peak Wealth/Global GDP： 22.7%

You don’t become the richest woman of all time without a little bloodshed. This Chinese empress rose to power as the concubine of two Tang Dynasty emperors， who were father and son. When the son， Emperor Gaozong， gained power， Wu was ruthless in eliminating rivals for his affection. She reportedly killed her own week-old daughter and pinned the crime on one of Gaozong’s main consorts， Empress Wang， who was imprisoned and killed. Once Gaozong died， Wu forced her own sons to abdicate and was named court administrator， a position equivalent to emperor. Her tactics paid off for China’s economy： Under her 15-year reign， the empire expanded its domain far into central Asia， making it one of the largest in the world at the time. National wealth flourished thanks to the trade of tea and silk with western nations along the Silk Road—with more than 300 million units of currency ultimately produced during the Tang Dynasty.

2. Hatshepsut

Lived： 1507—1458 BC

Nation： Egypt

Peak Wealth/Global GDP： about 20%

In order to rule as Egypt’s first female pharaoh， Hatshepsut worked hard to convince her subjects that her reign was the will of the gods. And who could blame her： At stake was control of gold mines with an output that would be worth $2 billion today. She rose to power after the death of her husband （and half-brother）， Thutmose II， and went on to control one of the largest empires in the ancient world， with lands that extended beyond Egypt’s borders into the Middle East. During her two decades of rule， she also exercised control over mines with vast stores of gold， copper， and precious stones.

3. Catherine the Great

Lived： 1729—1796

Nation： Russia

Peak Wealth/Global GDP： 5.4%

Catherine the Great’s moniker may refer not only to her political might but also to her fortune， which today would give her economic power equal to about $1.5 trillion. Catherine’s rule over Russia， historically one of the largest empires in terms of land， gave her control of about 5% of global GDP at the time. Russia’s longest-reigning female also held authority over the Russian Orthodox Church， which controlled about one-third of the empire’s serfs， or indentured servants. While most Russians’ lives did not improve during Catherine’s rule， their labor drove some of the empire’s most ambitious military expeditions and cultural projects.

4. Cleopatra

Lived： 69—30 BC

Nation： Egypt

Peak Wealth/Global GDP： about 2.6%

Cleopatra， one of the world’s best-known female rulers， is remembered as much for her wealth as for her skills of political manipulation. As Egypt’s pharaoh， Cleopatra controlled some of the nation’s largest industries at the time， such as wheat， papyrus and unguents， which gave her an approximate annual income of 12，000 to 15，000 Egyptian talents. Her net worth has been estimated as high as $95.8 billion. However， Cleopatra wasn’t always able to afford her life of luxury in her own right： She borrowed heavily from foreign leaders to finance the many wars she waged during her reign.

5. Isabella of Castile

Lived： 1451—1504

Nation： Spain

Peak Wealth/Global GDP： 1%

As one of the richest monarchs in the world， it didn’t seem like things could get much better for Queen Isabel I of Castile—until she consolidated her control over all of Spain by marrying her cousin Ferdinand of Aragon. At the time of her death， Castile’s crown had an annual income of about 1.45 million ducats， the gold coin that served as Spain’s currency. She also ruled over Spain during a boom in its wool and textile industries， and personally possessed some of the most valuable jewels and tapestries in the world at the time.

6. Liliane Bettencourt

Lived： 192—2017

Nation： France

Peak Wealth/Global GDP： 0.055%

If you’ve ever bought lotion at the Body Shop or applied Maybelline lipstick before leaving the house， you’ve contributed to the fortune of this L’Oreal heiress， whose wealth peaked at $40.7 billion in 2015. She’s now a principal shareholder in the cosmetics company founded by her father in 1907. Under her control， L’Oreal has acquired other brands， such as Lancome in 1964， as well as blockbuster products like the fragrance “Polo” by Ralph Lauren in 1985.

7. Yang Huiyan

Lived： 1981—present

Nation： China

Peak Wealth/Global GDP： 0.025%

Many people were hit hard by the economic recession in 2007， but few so dramatically as Yang Huiyan. The Chinese heiress started off with a $16.2 billion fortune from her father， Yang Guoqiang， founder of property developer Country Garden. Following the financial crisis， her net worth plummeted; she’s now worth $5.2 billion. Huiyan has been involved in the family business since she was a teenager and now serves as vice chairman of the board of governance.

8. Susanne Klatten

Lived： 1962—present

Nation： Germany

Peak Wealth/Global GDP： 0.024%

Germany’s richest woman derived most of her $17.4 billion fortune from one of the country’s most lucrative brands： BMW. Klatten inherited a 12.6% stake in the luxury automaker from her late father， Herbert Quandt. Klatten also invests in multiple business ventures， from pharmaceutical companies （she owns 100% of Altana AG， which has about $2 billion in annual sales） to wind power and water tech businesses.

9. Anne Cox Chambers

Lived： 1919—present

Nation： United States

Peak Wealth/Global GDP： 0.021%

Cox Chambers had a stint as an ambassador to Belgium and received France’s Commander of Legion of Honor title in 2009， but her major claim to fame is as a media mogul. The Georgia resident’s fortune comes from her stake in her late father’s Cox Enterprises， which owns news outlets such as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Palm Beach Post. But most of its revenue comes from its telecommunications division， holding one of the nation’s largest cable television providers. Cox Chambers has served as a member of Cox Enterprise’s board of directors and chair of Atlanta Newspapers. In November 2015， the now-96-year-old businesswoman stepped down from the board， distributing her stake—amounting to a fortune of $15.3 billion—to her three heirs.

10. Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken

Lived： 1954—present

Nation： Netherlands

Peak Wealth/Global GDP： 0.017%

Every time you crack open a Heineken， you’re adding to the fortune of this Dutch brewery tycoon， whose wealth peaked at $12.7 billion in 2016. De Carvalho-Heineken is the only child of Freddy Heineken， who served as CEO of the world’s third-largest brewer from 1971 to 1989. She inherited her 25% stake in Heineken International when her father died in 2002. Without any formal business education， de Carvalho-Heineken was a driving force behind the selection of the company’s current CEO， Jean-Francois van Boxmeer. He’s overseen $30 billion in brewery acquisitions since he took the helm

歷史上，女性在致富道路上歷盡艱難。

幾個世紀以來，無論是長子繼承制還是女子不得享有財產(chǎn)的法律都限制了女性富豪的數(shù)量。僅有的幾個也不過是典型的繼承者，她們積累的大量財富是從家族中男性成員那里繼承而來。斯坦福大學(xué)古代歷史專業(yè)教授沃爾特·沙伊德爾指出：“女性擁有大量個人財富是現(xiàn)代才有的現(xiàn)象?！?/p>

這也是為什么去年我們整理“史上十大富豪”排名榜單時發(fā)現(xiàn)入榜的竟全是男性。這份榜單在整理時充滿挑戰(zhàn)——以兩兩相較的方式對不同時代、不同地域的個人財富量進行比較并非易事，因此我們借用了一項由世界貨幣價值研究網(wǎng)的歷史學(xué)家和經(jīng)濟學(xué)家共同研發(fā)的測量技術(shù)。這種技術(shù)將個人財富量與當(dāng)時全球經(jīng)濟產(chǎn)出總量進行對比。于此之外，我們決定只注重那些除遺產(chǎn)繼承之外還在財富管理上積極經(jīng)營或掌握實權(quán)的女性富豪們，即便她們最初的財產(chǎn)是從父親或者丈夫手中繼承而來。所以，在這份榜單中你不會看到沃爾瑪繼承人的遺孀克里斯蒂·沃爾頓及創(chuàng)始人長女愛麗絲·沃爾頓，因為她們從未插手公司的日常運營。

在這份榜單上你也不會看到諸如英國女王維多利亞和伊麗莎白一世，或者埃及王后納芙蒂蒂這樣富有的王室成員。盡管她們每個人都擁有無上權(quán)力和無盡財富，但其財富卻不足以讓她們在世界總財富中占據(jù)一席之地。同樣，榜單中也不會出現(xiàn)像奧普拉·溫弗瑞以及Theranos創(chuàng)始人伊麗莎白·霍姆斯這樣的現(xiàn)代億萬商業(yè)巨賈，盡管她們分別擁有30億美元和45億美元的財產(chǎn)，但相較于全球生產(chǎn)總值，她們算不上特別有錢。

為了編寫榜單，我們咨詢了近30位歷史學(xué)家并對數(shù)十位可能入榜者進行了調(diào)研。盡管仍可能存在爭議，但下面呈現(xiàn)的是我們精心整理出來的“史上十大最富有女性”排名。

1. 武則天

時代：624—705

國家：中國

財富峰值在全球GDP占比：22.7%

沒有一點兒殺戮你是無法入圍史上女富豪榜單的。這位中國女皇曾為大唐父子兩代皇帝的寵妃，而后獨掌皇權(quán)。高宗在位時，武則天為了獨享圣寵，不擇手段排除異己。據(jù)說她曾殺害自己一周大的女兒，轉(zhuǎn)而嫁禍給當(dāng)時的王皇后，最終致其入獄被害。高宗一死，她便逼迫自己的兩個兒子相繼退位并自己臨朝稱制，位同皇帝。她治國有方，在國家經(jīng)濟上卓有成效。在她統(tǒng)治的15年里，大唐的疆土遠擴至中亞，成為當(dāng)時世界上最大的國家之一。此外，大唐與絲綢之路沿途的西方國家進行茶葉、絲綢貿(mào)易，國家財富巨增。最終，有唐一代創(chuàng)造了超過30億貨幣單位。

2. 哈謝普蘇

時代：前1507—前1458

國家：埃及

財富峰值在全球GDP占比：約20%

為了成為埃及第一位女法老，哈謝普蘇費心盡力令百姓相信她的統(tǒng)治是神的旨意。而金礦在握，其產(chǎn)值相當(dāng)于現(xiàn)在的20億美元，誰又能怪她呢？她的丈夫圖特摩斯二世（她同父異母的兄弟）死后，她便獨攬大權(quán)，繼而成為這個古代最強帝國之一的統(tǒng)治者，其時埃及疆土已延至中東。在她統(tǒng)治的20年中，她還控制了儲量豐沛的金、銅以及各種珍稀礦石資源。

3. 葉卡捷琳娜二世

時代：1729—1796

國家：俄國

財富峰值在全球GDP占比：5.4%

葉卡捷琳娜二世（后世尊稱其為葉卡捷琳娜大帝）的名號指的不僅僅是她的政治地位，同時也指她所擁有的財富。她的財富總值相當(dāng)于現(xiàn)今的1.5萬億美元左右。俄國在歷史上曾是土地面積最大的帝國之一，葉卡捷琳娜二世對俄國的統(tǒng)治讓她在當(dāng)時掌控了全球GDP的5%左右。這位在位時間最長的俄國女君主還是俄國東正教的權(quán)威，此教派控制著俄國大約三分之一的農(nóng)奴或契約傭工。盡管在葉卡捷琳娜二世統(tǒng)治期間，大多數(shù)俄國人民的生活并沒有得到改善，但是民眾的勞作還是推動了俄國的部分軍事擴張大業(yè)以及文化項目。

4. 克婁巴特拉

時代：前69—前30

國家：埃及

財富峰值在全球GDP占比：約2.6%

作為世上最知名的女性統(tǒng)治者之一，克婁巴特拉為世人所銘記不僅是因為她高深的政治手段，還因為她的巨額財富。作為埃及的法老，克婁巴特拉掌控了當(dāng)時國家的一些重要行業(yè)，例如小麥、莎草紙和藥膏行業(yè)。這些令她的年收入相當(dāng)于1.2萬至1.5萬埃及人的收入總額。據(jù)評估她的資產(chǎn)凈值高達958億美元。盡管如此，克婁巴特拉還是無法僅憑自己來維持其奢靡的生活：在統(tǒng)治期間，她不得不舉債他國元首來為她發(fā)動的諸多戰(zhàn)事提供財政支持。

5. 卡斯蒂利亞女王伊莎貝拉一世

時代：1451—1504

國家：西班牙

財富峰值在全球GDP占比：1%

作為世上最富有的君主之一，卡斯蒂利亞女王伊莎貝拉一世的地位已經(jīng)是尊崇榮耀、無以復(fù)加。等到她嫁給堂弟阿拉貢的斐迪南時，她的權(quán)力更是覆及整個西班牙。在她過世時，卡斯蒂利亞君王的年收入約為145萬達克特（當(dāng)時西班牙的通行貨幣）。其統(tǒng)治正逢西班牙羊毛和紡織業(yè)的鼎盛時期。此外，她個人還擁有許多當(dāng)時世上價值連城的珠寶和壁毯。 （未完待續(xù)）? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?□

6.利莉亞娜·貝當(dāng)古

時代：1922—2017

國家：法國

財富峰值在全球GDP占比：0.055%

如果你曾在化妝品公司美體小鋪購買過潤膚露或者出門前涂過美寶蓮口紅，那么你就為這位化妝品企業(yè)歐萊雅集團繼承人的財富貢獻了一份力量。2015年，利莉亞娜·貝當(dāng)古的財富達至巔峰，共計407億美元。如今她是這家由她父親于1907年創(chuàng)立的化妝品企業(yè)的大股東。在她的管理下，歐萊雅收購了其他知名品牌及風(fēng)靡一時的產(chǎn)品，例如1964年收購的法國品牌蘭蔻，以及1985年拉夫勞倫公司生產(chǎn)的保羅香水。

7.楊惠妍

時代：1981—

國家：中國

財富峰值在全球GDP占比：0.025%

2007年金融危機時，很多人都遭受了經(jīng)濟重創(chuàng)，但沒個人像楊惠妍這樣損失如此慘烈。這位中國女富豪最初從她的父親，碧桂園地產(chǎn)開發(fā)公司創(chuàng)始人楊國強手里繼承了162億美元。金融危機后，她的資產(chǎn)凈值驟然下跌：如今為52億美元。楊惠妍十幾歲時便開始參與家族事業(yè)，如今她在碧桂園董事局擔(dān)任副主席一職。

8. 蘇珊·克拉滕

時代：1962—

國家：德國

財富峰值在全球GDP占比：0.024%

這位坐擁174億美元的德國最富有女性的大部分財產(chǎn)都是從寶馬而來。寶馬是德國最賺錢的品牌之一?？死鴱乃压实母赣H赫伯特·科萬特手里繼承了這家豪車制造公司12.6%的股份。同時，她還投資了從制藥公司（她擁有阿爾塔納制藥公司100%的股份，每年銷售額近20億美元）到風(fēng)能和水能科技公司等的多個企業(yè)。

9. 安妮·考克斯·錢伯斯

時代：1919—

國家：美國

財富峰值在全球GDP占比：0.021%

考克斯·錢伯斯曾做過美國駐比利時大使，并在2009年獲得了法國榮譽軍團勛章，但她之所以聞名于世主要還是因為其傳媒大亨的身份。這位喬治亞州女富豪的財產(chǎn)來自于她在考克斯企業(yè)的股份。這家企業(yè)由她已故父親創(chuàng)辦，擁有包括《亞特蘭大憲報》《棕櫚灘郵報》在內(nèi)的多家新聞媒體公司，其大部分盈利來自旗下電視傳媒公司，是美國最大有線電視供應(yīng)商之一。除了考克斯企業(yè)董事局成員身份之外，考克斯·錢伯斯還是亞特蘭大報業(yè)的主席。直到2015年11月，這位時年96歲的女性商業(yè)大亨才從董事局卸任，并將她價值153億美元的股份分給3位繼承人。

10. 查倫·德卡瓦略·海內(nèi)肯

時代：1954—

國家：荷蘭

財富峰值在全球GDP占比：0.017%

每當(dāng)你開啟一罐喜力啤酒，你就為這位荷蘭啤酒大亨的財產(chǎn)貢獻了一份力量。2016年她的財富峰值達127億美元。她的父親弗雷迪·海內(nèi)肯曾于1971至1989年間出任喜力這個世界第三大啤酒制造商的首席執(zhí)行官。2002年弗雷迪過世，作為獨生女，德卡瓦略·海內(nèi)肯從父親那里繼承了喜力國際25%的股份。雖然沒有任何正規(guī)商科教育背景，但德卡瓦略·海內(nèi)肯卻是公司現(xiàn)任首席執(zhí)行官讓-弗朗索瓦·范博克斯梅爾得以獲選的背后推手。自他接手公司以來，喜力耗資300億美元用以收購其他啤酒公司?！?/p>