On Sept. 22, 1949, Shirley Cupp, Irma Beisel and Frances Stuckey incorporated the American Business Women’s Association. It came at a time when many women who had helped in the war effort were being told to go back home and take care of their family.
Kansas City businessman Hilary Bufton Jr., who met with the women, believed they deserved more and together they founded the association. However, it wasn’t until 1983 that American Business Women’s Day was recognized and on Sept. 22, 1986, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed it so.
Today, there are about 14 million women-owned small businesses in the U.S., accounting for 40% of small businesses, according to Forbes. These companies generate around $2.7 trillion in annual revenue.
There are a record 31 self-made women billionaires, up from 24 a year ago, according to Forbes. Seventy-seven-year-old Diane Hendricks and her late husband Ken built Wisconsin-based ABC Supply. She ranks first in the magazine’s Richest Self-Made Women in America 2024 list with an estimated net worth of $20.9 billion.
Next on the list is Judy Love, who with her late husband Tom founded truck stop and convenience store chain Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores in 1964. According to USA Today’s List of America’s Richest Self-Made Women, the 86-year-old has a net worth of $10.2 billion.
Most of those on the list are in their 70s, 80s and even 90s. The youngest, at 63, is Jayshree Ullal. She has been president and CEO of Arista Networks, a computer networking firm, since 2008. Forbes lists her net worth at $4 billion.
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