Meet Rafaela AponteDiamant, The World’s Richest Self-Made Woman

With a net worth of $28.6 billion as of June 2023, Rafaela Aponte-Diamant is the world’s wealthiest self-made woman, according to Forbes’ 2023 Billionaires list. Here’s a glance into the life of the richest of the world’s 96 self-made women billionaires.

ship bought was named after Rafaela. With the acquisition of the line Monterey in 1988, they expanded into cruises.

Today, MSC has 675 offices across 155 countries with 150,000 employees. MSC’s shipping line sails on over 260 trade routes, calling at more than 520 ports.

The privately-owned company also operates in holiday cruises (MSC Cruises), inland logistics (Medlog), and port operations (Terminal Investment Limited).

She has two children with Gianluigi— Alexa and Diego. Diego serves as group president of the family business.

Rafaela Aponte-Diamant’s fortune is attributed to her 50% stake in the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) Group, the world’s largest shipping line. The other half is owned by her husband, Gianluigi.

The 78-year-old is the world’s 43rd richest person as per Forbes’ 2023 Billionaires ranking.

The Swiss entrepreneur first met Gianluigi on a trip to the Italian island of Capri in the 1960s, when Gianluigi was a ship captain.

The duo entered the shipping industry together in 1970 when they purchased a ship with a $200,000 loan. Their second

Rafaela now focuses on the cruise ships’ interiors and serves on the board of the MSC Foundation.

The Swiss couple both hold Italian citizenship yet reside in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Aponte family established the MSC Foundation in 2018 to lead and coordinate conservation and humanitarian commitments globally.

As of 2022, the MSC Foundation’s total donations had touched $12.9 million.

In December 2022, MSC purchased Bolloré Africa Logistics, the African transport and logistics arm of the Bolloré Group, for $6 billion.