4 Indian-Americans in Forbes’ 2023 Richest Self-Made Women list

Indian-Americans Jayshree Ullal, Neerja Sethi, Neha Narkhede, and Indra Nooyi feature in the ninth Forbes' Richest Self-Made Women list of 2023.

New York: Indian-Americans Jayshree Ullal, Neerja Sethi, Neha Narkhede, and Indra Nooyi feature in the ninth Forbes’ Richest Self-Made Women list of 2023.

The four have been named to the list of 100 most successful entrepreneurs, executives, and entertainers in the US with a cumulative wealth of record $124 billion, up nearly 12 per cent from a year ago.

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Silicon Valley engineer and Cisco veteran Jayshree Ullal, 62, leads the Indian-American pack ranking at number 15 on the list with a net worth of $2.2 billion.

According to Forbes, Ullal joined the computer networking company Arista Networks as CEO in 2008 when the business had no sales.

The now publicly-traded company, which she still runs, recorded $4.4 billion in revenue in 2022, up 48 per cent from the prior year, despite component shortages and supply chain challenges.

Neerja Sethi, 68, ranks at number 25 with a net worth of $990 million.

She co-founded IT consulting and outsourcing firm Syntel with husband Bharat Desai in 1980 in their apartment in Troy, Michigan. In 2018, they sold it to French IT firm Atos SE for $3.4 billion.

Software engineer-turned-entrepreneur, Neha Narkhede, 38, announced her new company, fraud detection firm Oscilar, in March. She co-founded the business with her husband in 2021, funding it with $20 million and positions at number 50 on the list with a wealth of $520 million.

Ranking at number 77 with a net worth of $350 million is Indra Nooyi, the first woman of colour and immigrant to run PepsiCo, one of America’s 50 largest companies.

Nooyi retired as PepsiCo’s CEO in 2018 and as chair in 2019 after a dozen years in those roles.

Now a director of Amazon and health tech firm Philips, Nooyi joined scandal-plagued Deutsche Bank’s new Global Advisory Board last November.

“This list is a testament to the hard work and success of these women,” Kerry A. Dolan, Assistant Managing Editor, Wealth, at Forbes, said.

“We continue to see women breaking records and increasing their influence and power along with their fortunes, and each year new women in a variety of industries break into these ranks.”

The overall list is topped by Diane Hendricks, 76, of ABC Supply with a wealth of $15 billion.