Forbes recently released its annual list of the 100 most successful self-made women in America, and four women of Indian origin have secured their spots on this prestigious list. These accomplished individuals are Jayshree Ullal, Indra Nooyi, Neerja Sethi, and Neha Narkhede. Combined, their net worth amounts to an impressive $4.06 billion. Diane Hendricks, a building supply distributor with a net worth of $15 billion, retains the top position on the list for the sixth consecutive year. The list also welcomes eight new entrants, including television producer Shonda Rhimes and Insitro CEO Daphne Koller.
The record-breaking collective net worth of the women on the Forbes list amounts to $124 billion, marking an increase of nearly 12% compared to the previous year, partly due to the rebound in the stock market.
Jayshree Ullal, the president and CEO of computer networking firm Arista Networks, holds the highest rank among Indian-origin business leaders, securing the 15th spot on the list. Arista Networks, a publicly-traded company, recorded revenue of approximately $4.4 billion in 2022. Ullal, aged 62, owns about 2.4% of Arista’s stock, some of which is designated for her family members. She is also a board member of Snowflake, a cloud computing company that went public in September 2020. Ullal pursued her studies in electrical engineering at San Francisco State University and engineering management at Santa Clara University.
Ranked 25th on the list, Neerja Sethi boasts a net worth of $990 million. Alongside her husband Bharat Desai, she co-founded IT consulting and outsourcing firm Syntel in 1980. In 2018, the French IT firm Atos SE acquired Syntel for $3.4 billion, and Sethi received an estimated $510 million for her stake. Sethi obtained her Bachelor of Arts/Science and Master of Business Administration from Delhi University and a Master of Science from Oakland University. Inspired by their work at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Sethi and her husband launched their business with a modest initial investment of $2,000.
Neha Narkhede, ranked 50th on the list, served as the co-founder and former chief technology officer (CTO) of the cloud company Confluent. With a net worth of $520 million, the 38-year-old software engineer-turned-entrepreneur contributed to the development of the open-source messaging system Apache Kafka, which played a crucial role in handling LinkedIn’s extensive data. In 2014, Narkhede, along with two colleagues from LinkedIn, founded Confluent, which helps organizations process large volumes of data using Apache Kafka. Forbes notes that Narkhede owns approximately 6% of the company, which was valued at $586 million in 2022. In March 2023, Narkhede announced her new venture, Oscilar, a fraud detection firm, where she serves as co-founder and CEO.
Indra Nooyi, the former chair and CEO of PepsiCo, retired in 2019 after spending 24 years with the company, half of which she served in the top position. Ranked 77th on the Forbes list, the 67-year-old has a net worth of $350 million. Nooyi’s fortune primarily comes from stock grants received during her tenure at PepsiCo. Growing up in India, she obtained an MBA from Yale University and went on to become one of the few female CEOs in corporate America in 2006.
The inclusion of these accomplished women on Forbes’ list highlights their exceptional achievements and contributions to their respective industries. They serve as inspirations for aspiring entrepreneurs and business leaders, breaking barriers and paving the way for future generations.
