Forbes’ America’s Richest Self-Made Women list includes Austin faces, plus the woman behind SpaceX

By Laura Figi – Austonia

Women nationwide are getting richer—Forbes reported that the wealth of the top self-made women has soared 31% since last year—and Austin’s women are no exception. Out of the top 100 women who climbed their way to the rankings, five have Austin ties.

Austin, and Texas’, notable addition Gwynne Shotwell is changing the space-scape of the city as we know it. As SpaceX’s president and COO, Shotwell came in 62nd place with a net worth of $460 million.

Shotwell, an Illinois native, is now living outside Austin and Waco in Jonesboro, Texas. She works closely with Austin-transplant Elon Musk, having joined SpaceX back in 2002, and manages the operations of the company that wants to put human civilization on other planets.

Having watched the Apollo 11 launch as a child and the tragedy of the Challenger shuttle soon after she graduated college, Shotwell has a complicated relationship with space travel. In fact, Shotwell wasn’t even interested in space until she began working at The Aerospace Corporation, which she later left to become director of the space systems division at Microcosm Inc.

Familiar faces on the list include SHI International CEO Thai Lee, who ranked sixth with a net worth of $4.1 billion; Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, ranking 21st with a net worth of $1.3 billion; Kendra Scott jewelry founder Kendra Scott, coming in 35th place with a net worth of $800 million; and Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su, who ranked 52nd with a net worth of $600 million.