Some say the business world is a "man's world" - but try telling the richest women CEOs that. You'll probably get a nice laugh in the face.
Just see how much the richest women leaders in business today are worth. Pair this with their power positions and you have five forces to be reckoned with...
Five of the Richest Women CEOs in Business Today
Judy Faulkner - Worth $2.6 Billion
As CEO of Epic Systems, Judy Faulkner is among the richest women in America. Faulkner has a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a master's degree in computer science from University of Wisconsin. In 1979, she founded Epic Systems, a privately held software company that sells electronic health records. About half of the population in the United States will soon have its medical information stored in Epic software.
The company has plenty of huge clients, including Cleveland Clinic, CVS Health, and Johns Hopkins. Epic Systems recently announced a partnership with Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) that allows patients to share information stored in healthcare apps with their physicians.
Faulkner does not believe in marketing. In fact, Epic Systems hasn't run a press release for 18 years. The only marketing the company has sponsored was a single billboard with the phrase, "Marketing Sucks... Epic Systems" written on it.
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Meg Whitman - Worth $2.1 Billion
Formerly the CEO of eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY), Meg Whitman is now CEO of Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ). Whitman earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, then worked at Hasbro, Stride Rite, and the Walt Disney Co. before becoming CEO of eBay in 1998. She maintained the position for 10 years, where she accumulated much of her fortune.
Whitman joined Hewlett-Packard as CEO in 2011. She has since been working diligently to reinvent Hewlett-Packard, and so far Wall Street approves; shares rose more than 46% in 2014 alone.
Whitman originally planned on becoming a doctor, but was attracted to marketing and business instead. She was a talented athlete in high school, playing field hockey, lacrosse, and basketball, as well as serving as captain of her swim team.
Irene Rosenfeld - Worth $96 Million
As the current chairwoman and CEO of Mondelez International Inc. (Nasdaq: MDLZ), a global snacking company that owns Cadbury Dairy Milk, Rosenfeld has become one of the highest-paid women in business today. She's had extensive experience in the food and beverage industry, having previously held positions with Frito-Lay and General Foods before landing chief of Kraft Foods in 2006. When Kraft became two publicly traded companies in 2011, Rosenfeld stuck with the international branch of the company, which operates in more than 80 nations across the globe.
Mondelez International is making great strides in the business world, with shares increasing over 48% within the last two years alone.
Indra Nooyi - Worth $145 Million
As the chairwoman and CEO of PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP), Indra Nooyi has seen great success. Now worth an estimated $145 million, Nooyi has managed to continuously exceed analysts' expectations and dire forecasts. Despite a decline in the consumption of sugary beverages across the globe, PepsiCo's shares increased approximately 17% in the last year, from $82.86 to $96.82.
Nooyi's ability to think outside the box has helped her keep the company strong. By 2013, PepsiCo products accounted for 9 out of 50 new food and beverage introductions in the United States.
Before becoming a business mogul in the United States, Nooyi worked in India and played lead guitar in an all-woman rock band in her hometown of Madras, India. Against her parents' wishes, she migrated to the United States in 1978 at age 23 to earn her MBA in public and private management at Yale.
Leslie Blodgett - Worth $400 Million
Growing up in Smithtown, N.Y., Blodgett always had a passion for beauty products. She attended college at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. While doing so, she started working behind a cosmetics counter, which served to maintain her intrigue in all things fashionable and beautiful. Her career took off when she was appointed head of Bare Escentuals Inc. (Nasdaq: BARE).
Blodgett became CEO of Bare Escentuals in 1994 and used her experience with companies such as Max Factor and Neutrogena to grow the business. The following year, she launched BareMinerals and set out on a journey to educate women on healthy makeup alternatives by using unconventional marketing techniques and a community-enabled approach.
In 2010, Bare Escentuals was acquired by Shiseido, a cosmetics giant based out of Japan, for $1.7 billion.
It's Awards Ceremony Season. Sure, movies are great, but we know where entertainment is really headed these days - the Internet. Specifically, toward original content. But there's a right way to invest in original content and a wrong way. If you're sick of money playing a cameo role in your life, continue reading to learn the right way to invest in original content...