The 10 richest women in Britain

The 10 richest women in Britain

Britain's richest women are a fascinating bunch. From brewing to fashion, spectacles to internet porn and gambling, they have made their fortunes in a diverse range of ways. An international lot, they hail from many corners of the world - Norway, Brazil and Croatia as well as the UK.

Read on to find out who can claim to be the 10 richest women in Britain and how they got there.

1. Kirsty Bertarelli

Net worth: £5,950 million

How: Pharmaceuticals

Crowned Miss UK in 1988, Kirsty Bertarelli's considerable achievements include writing hit songs (Black Coffee, which was recorded by All Saints), creating a women's line of clothing for Alinghi and designing a range of jewellery for watchmakers Audemars Piguet. A true renaissance woman, even Carla Bruni would be impressed. She is married to Ernesto Bertarelli (the couple are pictured above) who sold the Switzerland-based pharmaceutical company Serono to Merck in 2006.

2. Charlene de Carvalho

Net worth: £4,400 million

How: Inheritance, brewing, banking

Nicknamed the "queen of brewing", Charlene de Carvalho and her husband Michael, a former film star and Olympic skier, inherited a controlling interest in Dutch brewer Heineken following the death of Charlene's father Freddy Heineken in 2002.

3. Lady Green

Net worth: £4,105 million

How: Retailing

Tina to her friends, plays a key role in the retail empire Arcadia, which owns Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Evans and Miss Selfridge and is more closely associated with her husband, Sir Philip Green.

4. Kirsten Rausing

Net worth: £3,500 million

How: Inheritance and investment

Granddaughter of Ruben Rausing, who developed Tetra Pak, she sits on the board of Tetra Laval (the company that owns Tetra Pak) and is a keen horse-breeder.

5. Baroness Howard de Walden

Net worth: £1,400 million

How: Property

The Howard de Walden estates controls 90 acres of central London, including large swathes of fashionable Marylebone including Harley Street.

6. Helene and Marianne Odfjell

Net worth: £875 million

How: Shipping

Norwegian-born sisters run the family shipping and drilling operation Odfjell Drilling group from London.

7. Ruth Parasol

Net worth: £832 million

How: Internet gambling

Founded Party Gaming, the online poker group, with her husband Russell De Leon. A lawyer, she served as an adviser for her father's phone-sex-chat business before investing in and promoting internet porn. The porn interests were sold in 1996 and, soon after, she moved into internet gambling.

8. Dame Mary Perkins

Net worth: £810 million

How: Opticians

Husband-and-wife team Douglas and Dame Mary Perkins met while studying to be opticians at the University of Wales, making their fortune from Specsavers, which they established in 1984.

9. Lily Safra

Net worth: £764 million

How: Inheritance

Brazilian-born Lily Safra is the widow of Lebanese banker Edmond J Safra who was killed in an arson attack at their Monaco apartment in 1999. She was already a wealthy woman when she married Mr Safra, her fourth husband, as she had inherited millions when her second husband committed suicide. Renowned for her funding of charitable causes through the Edmond J Safra Foundation.

10. Slavica Ecclestone

Net worth: £734 million

How: Divorce

Slavica Ecclestone makes the list after her divorce of Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One tycoon. She said recently: "I'm enjoying the freedom of being a woman in my fifties. My life is beautiful."

Source: The Sunday Times Rich List 2010