6 Things You Overlooked about Forbes Most Powerful Women

Give me a fist pump if you really connected the dots about which women hit the Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women and why they made the list.

If you skimmed it and tossed it, let me break it down for you so you can make the list in the next five years. It is VERY possible.

Did you know the 100 women on the list are mostly boomers?

Any woman regardless of income or social class can make the list — and I love that. This list is so juicy and diverse it includes all ages, nationalities, social classes, educational backgrounds. Forbes cast a wide net and hand picked the women with the most net worth and social media clout.

The list shows me that storybook endings happen to the hardest working women who have answered their calling. These women have put in their 10,000 hours and then some to master their jobs. Here’s what else I noticed…

#1   Most of the Honorees Are Boomers on Fire

The majority of the 100 women on the list are 45 and over. To make the power list, these women climbed the corporate ladder, formed startups, or wowed their way into fame and fortune through their raw talent and tenacity.

Yes, there are a few young powerhouses on the list such as Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, 37, ranks #10; Lady Gaga, 26, came in at #14; and Angelina Jolie, 37, ranks #66. I’m happy they’re on the list besides the world leaders, philanthropists and scientists.  Young celebs and powerhouses inspire women and give back to the world in big ways far beyond their stardom. Go Gaga.

 

#2  More than 40% Aren’t from the U.S.

Diversity rules. America is no longer the richest and apparently loosing ground on brainpower and rank, too, but are we losing ground in being the smartest among female elite? Women beat men on IQ tests for the first time in America but does any one have studies that would shed light on which women are smarter, Domestic or International?

 

#3  Personality Pays Off

Ten of the Power 100 are celebrities who cashed in on their personalities, wit and storytelling abilities. As a writer, with my 15 minutes of fame coming up on the new CBS show The Job on Feb. 15, this gives me hope that you don’t have to graduate from MIT to arrive on top.

Just ask comedian Ellen DeGeneres (#47); author J.K. Rowling (#61), TV star Sofia Vergara (#75), Greta Van Susteren (#94) or Jlo (#38). Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book just after a divorce when she was on welfare. Today Rowling is the first book writer to become a billionaire in US dollars.

 

#4  Learn to Govern and Read a P&L Statement

The bulk of the power players on the list either lead countries or companies. The CEOs got there by knowing financials and how to raise capital. The powerful government gals got there by smashing through glass ceilings like Christine Lagarde. Simply smashing.

 

#5   Average Janes Bloom into A-List Janes 

Michelle Obama, #7 on the Forbes Power 100, was just a south Chicago housewife and university worker pre-2008. I doubt she owned any designer ballroom gowns at that time, but look at her now.

Stefanie Germanotta, aka Lady Gaga, dropped out of NYU in her sophomore year yet went on to earn five Grammys, two Guinness World Records and sell 15 million albums worldwide to date.

Angela Merkel, #1 on Forbes list, was raised in rural Berlin by a pastor and teacher. Merkel went from being a chemist to a politician and today is the first woman to lead Germany as its stateswoman and chancellor.

 

#6  You Can Soar Running Your Own Store

Being an entrepreneur no longer small business. These entrepreneurs took their technology or fashion idea to the moon and back.

Arianna Huffington (#29), Diane von Furstenberg (#33) and Miuccia Prada (# 67). Less known list makers were Chinese real estate tycoon Zhang Xin (# 2), Zara founder and billionaire Rosalia Mera (#54) and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, India’s first biotech entrepreneur (#80).

Riddle me this in comments.

Which powerful female do you admire most and why?

If you made the list in 5 years, what would it be for?

Do these lists inspire you or depress you and why?

Let’s get a discussion going in comments below.

 

Tags: women over 50

Category: Career & Money