Successful Women in Business: Seven Records Worth Reading

A common way to list successful women in business is by estimated net worth, and an estimate is someone's guess. This one counts what the record shows each woman built: a bank, a factory, a company, a seat on an exchange, a boardroom chair. Seven women made the page, four from history and three leading companies today, and every entry links the official page that proves it. The short answer to "who are the most successful women in business": the ones whose achievements you can check, which is a different list from the richest.

Key Takeaways

• Maggie Lena Walker founded the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1903, the first African American woman to charter a bank in the United States.
• Madam C. J. Walker built her own factory in Indianapolis, and her company's sales passed $500,000 in the last year of her life.
• Muriel Siebert became the first woman with a seat on the New York Stock Exchange on December 28, 1967.
• Jane Fraser, Lisa Su and Kathy Warden each hold both the chair and the chief executive role at their companies.
• Each of the three held a president or chief operating officer role before becoming CEO.

Successful Women in Business, Counted From the Record

The women in business desk follows the rules on How we rank: a source for every entry, a stated rule for every order, and nothing private, which means no guessed ages and no estimated fortunes. That last rule changes the list. A ranking by net worth rewards whoever an outside estimate favors this year. A ranking by record rewards what a woman built and what her company, her archive or a public agency says about it.

So each entry below names one milestone and links the page where that milestone is written down. We order the history list by the year of that milestone, earliest first. We order today's leaders by surname in alphabetical order, because no single measure fits three companies in three different industries.

Successful Business Women in History

Four women, checked October 23, 2026, by milestone year, earliest first.

1. Maggie Lena Walker, 1903, the bank: From humble beginnings in post-Civil War Richmond, Virginia, Walker founded the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1903 and served as its first president. The National Park Service records her as the first African American woman to charter a bank in the United States. A year earlier, in 1902, she had started a newspaper, The St. Luke Herald, to connect her organization with the public.
2. Madam C. J. Walker, 1910, the Indianapolis factory: Born Sarah Breedlove on December 23, 1867, on a Louisiana plantation where her parents had been enslaved, she once worked for as little as $1.50 a day in St. Louis. By early 1910 she had settled in Indianapolis, where she built a factory, a salon and a training school. Her official biography says her company's sales passed $500,000 in the final year of her life, and that Guinness World Records lists her as the first self-made American woman millionaire.
3. Mary Kay Ash, 1963, the brand: Her company says it has worked to enrich women's lives since 1963. It describes its founder's brand as "designed to give women a pathway to entrepreneurship."
4. Muriel Siebert, 1967, the exchange seat: On December 28, 1967, Siebert became the first woman to hold a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, "the only woman among 1,365 men," according to Harvard Business School's Baker Library. The seat cost $445,000.

What the Milestones Took, in Their Own Words

The records keep the women's own words, and they say more about the work than any ranking does.

Maggie Lena Walker argued for the bank in her speeches before she founded it: "Let us put our money together; let us use our money; Let us put our money out at usury among ourselves, and reap the benefit ourselves," the Park Service quotes her.

Madam C. J. Walker described her own climb: "I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub. From there I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations." She added: "I have built my own factory on my own ground."

Siebert's path shows what her seat took. The Baker Library records that she needed nine attempts to find two men to sponsor her. She put down 20 percent, and the Exchange required her to get a loan, something it had not required of other applicants. "There would be no loan until I was accepted, and I couldn't be accepted without the loan," she said.

Successful Business Women in the US Today

The search for the most successful women in business today has no single answer, so this list uses one clear test: women who hold both the chair of the board and the chief executive role at their companies, read on each company's own leadership page on October 23, 2026. These three are examples, not the full list, in alphabetical order by surname.

1. Jane Fraser, Citi: Fraser is Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Citi, which serves clients in more than 180 countries and jurisdictions. She became CEO in March 2021, and Citi named her Chair of the Board in October 2025. She joined Citi in 2004 after serving as a partner at McKinsey & Company.
2. Lisa Su, AMD: Su is chair and chief executive officer at AMD. She joined the company in January 2012 as a senior vice president. AMD's page says she received the National Medal of Science in 2026 and that TIME named her its 2024 CEO of the Year.
3. Kathy Warden, Northrop Grumman: Warden is chair, chief executive officer and president of Northrop Grumman. She has served as CEO and president since January 1, 2019, and the board elected her chair the same year.

Others pass the same test, among them Mary Barra, whom General Motors lists as Chair and CEO, and Phebe N. Novakovic, General Dynamics' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

What Their Records Have in Common

Read the three leadership pages side by side and one pattern shows. Each held a president or chief operating officer role before she became CEO:

• Fraser was President of Citi and CEO of its Global Consumer Bank before becoming CEO.
• Su was AMD's chief operating officer, responsible for integrating its business units, sales and global operations.
• Warden was Northrop Grumman's president and chief operating officer, and she led the integration of its Orbital ATK acquisition.

Three of the four historical records point the same way, toward building the operation first. Maggie Lena Walker built a newspaper before the bank. Madam C. J. Walker built a factory, a salon and a school in one city. Siebert spent years as an analyst before she bought her seat.

If you are building a business, that is the useful lesson from successful business women in history and today: the milestone came after years of running the parts.

How to Read Any List of Successful Women in Business

Before you trust a ranking, read it the way an editor would:

1. Find the rule: a list that does not say why one name sits above another is an opinion.
2. Check the source: each entry should link a page you can open, best of all the company's, the archive's or a public agency's.
3. Watch the money: a net worth figure is an estimate unless a filing proves it.
4. Check the date: titles change, and Jane Fraser's became Chair and CEO only in October 2025.
5. Look for the milestone: what did she build, and where is it written down?

The women in business desk keeps its lists to the same five checks.

Read the Record, Then the Ranking

Start with the women whose milestones you can verify, then read their own words and their companies' pages. Pick one record above and open its source today.

FAQs about Successful Women in Business

Who was the first African American woman to charter a bank in the United States?

The National Park Service records Maggie Lena Walker as the first African American woman to charter a bank in the United States. She founded the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1903.

Who was the first self-made woman millionaire in America?

Madam C. J. Walker's official biography says Guinness World Records lists her as the first self-made American woman millionaire.

Who was the first woman on the New York Stock Exchange?

Muriel Siebert became the first woman to hold a seat on the New York Stock Exchange on December 28, 1967.

Who are the most successful women in business today?

There is no single measure. Jane Fraser of Citi, Lisa Su of AMD and Kathy Warden of Northrop Grumman are three examples of women who hold both the chair and the chief executive role; Mary Barra of General Motors and Phebe Novakovic of General Dynamics hold both too.

When did Jane Fraser become CEO of Citi?

Citi says Jane Fraser became CEO in March 2021 and became Chair of the Board in October 2025.

Why does this list not rank by net worth?

The site's rules exclude estimated fortunes, so this list counts documented milestones instead, each linked to an official page.

How long has Kathy Warden led Northrop Grumman?

Northrop Grumman says Warden has served as CEO and president since January 1, 2019.

What did successful business women in history have in common?

The records here show three of the four built an operation before her milestone: a newspaper before a bank, a factory before her company's sales passed $500,000 a year, years as an analyst before an exchange seat.