( CNN ) There are 2,325 billionaires in the world , according to the Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2014 , and just over 12 % of them are women . With a combined wealth of $ 930 billion , the world 's richest females are making their mark on the global economy -- and their fortunes are only expected to improve in 2015 . Of the 286 female billionaires identified , only 17 % have self-made fortunes . The U.S. is currently home to the highest number of self-made female billionaires -- but future billionaires creating their own fortunes are predicted to come primarily from emerging markets . These wealthy women have an average age of 61 years and over 65 % of them inherited their wealth from multinational corporations , including retail store Walmart and cosmetics giant L'Oreal . Below , CNN reveals the women at the pinnacle of the rich list in each of the world 's regions . The wealthiest woman in North America is Christy Walton . As the widow of John Walton , son of Walmart founder Sam Walton , Christy Walton inherited a portion of the retail fortune following her husband 's death in 2005 . With an estimated worth of $ 37.9 billion she is the world 's richest woman . In recent years , Walton has stepped into the world of film production , bankrolling 2013 movie `` Bless Me , Ultima , '' based on the controversial novel by Rudolfo Anaya . Globally , the U.S. is the country with the highest number of billionaire residents -- both male and female . It boasts 609 of the world 's richest people . The oldest female on the list is L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt , who turned 92 last year . Aged just 15 , Bettencourt joined her father 's cosmetics company as an apprentice and today her $ 31.3 billion fortune makes her the richest woman in Europe , and the second richest female in the world . Europe is home to more billionaires than any other region , with 775 of the world 's monied elite living there . Australasia 's wealthiest woman is mining heiress Gina Rinehart . Described by Forbes as the `` queen of the global iron-ore trade , '' the 60-year-old controls Hancock Prospecting and is worth an estimated $ 14.8 billion . Rinehart has now expanded her portfolio beyond mining with significant shares in Australian media organizations Fairfax Media and Ten Network Holdings . Vanessa , Maria and Johanna Slim are daughters of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim and are the richest women in Latin America . The sisters have reportedly been receiving increments of their father 's fortune since 2003 and today are thought to individually have a worth of $ 6.3 billion , giving them a combined total of almost $ 19 billion . The sisters have been active in their father 's philanthropy foundations , but not the family business , according to Institutional Investor . At 33-years-old , Yang Huiyan is the youngest female on the list as well as being the richest woman in Asia . Having reportedly received 70 % of the shares for Chinese real estate firm Country Garden from her father in 2007 , Huiyan is now worth an estimated $ 6.3 billion . Yang is vice chairman of the board 's governance committee and helped raise $ 410 million selling new shares last year , according to Forbes . U.S.-born Israeli Shari Arison is the wealthiest woman in the Middle East after inheriting a fortune from father Ted Arison , founder of the Carnival Corporation cruise company . She now owns Arison investments , the controlling shareholder of Israeli bank Hapoalim . Arison has also invested in water company Miya , which aims to maximize the efficiency of water distribution in urban areas . Forty of the world 's billionaires live in Africa . The richest woman on the continent is Nigerian oil , fashion , and printing tycoon Folorunsho Alakija . The self-made billionaire , whose entrepreneurial career started tailoring , now owns Famfa Oil and is worth an estimated $ 1.2 billion . Insight : Most inspiring women of 2014 . See : Women run bank differently .
2,325 of world 's billionaires are women , with combined wealth of $ 37.9 billion . Wealth-X has compiled a list of the wealthiest women in each region . Topping the list in Latin America -- and globally -- is CNN worth $ 930 billion .