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16 of the World's Most Powerful Female Entrepreneurs

Oprah and Arianna Huffington

There are many powerful women in the world who represent a wide variety of industries, including politics, business, education, medicine and more. How about a list of women who have become successful in starting and growing their own businesses? Yes! Forbes has an annual list they call The World's Most Powerful Female Entrepreneurs.

What is different about this list?

What is so different about this list is that it consists strictly of women who have battled the odds and built their own successful businesses, often turning them into huge enterprises. They are considered the ultimate in small business idols. There are a total of 16 listed by Forbes; here are the top 5.

#1 - Sara Blakely: founded SPANX, a line of shaping underwear, that now does $250 million in annual sales.

#2 - Gisele Bundchen: founded a company called Sejaa Skincare that produces and sells pure and natural skincare. The supermodel turned businesswoman owns 100 percent of the company.

#3 - Tory Burch: founded a line of super popular ballet flats. The billionaire also makes accessories and ready-to-wear clothing.

#4 - Weili Dai: co-founded Marvell Technologies with her husband in 1995. She is the only female co-founder of an American semiconductor company.

#5 - Arianna Huffington: founded Huffington Post, an online newspaper and blogger and Pulitzer price winner.

To read the complete list of female entrepreneurs, visit www.forbes.com/pictures/lml45effkg/the-worlds-most-powerful-female-entrepreneurs/