Meet 8 of the richest women in history

Many aspects of life are often viewed as a man's domain, but powerful women have refused to accept the status quo for centuries. Here we bring you eight of the richest women in history and their outstanding achievements.

Oprah Winfrey

© Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com She's now a media mogul with an estimated fortune of $3.2 billion, according to CelebrityNetWorth, but Oprah Winfrey came from humble beginnings. Raised on a farm without indoor plumbing, Winfrey suffered serial abuse as a child.

Determined to change her life, she became the youngest person and first African-American woman news anchor at WTVF-TV in Nashville, Tenn., when she was just 19 years old. Eventually, she landed her own talk show "The Oprah Winfrey Show," which ran for 25 years.

In 2011 — the same year her talk show ended — she launched the Oprah Winfrey Network. The 63-year-old has also worked on several feature films in recent years, including "Selma" and "Lee Daniels' The Butler."

Cleopatra

© tanja-vashchuk / Shutterstock.com Known as the "Queen of the Nile," Cleopatra died Aug.12, 30 B.C., but her legend lives on. Despite being the last queen of the Macedonian dynasty that ruled Egypt, she had faint — if any — Egyptian roots.

Also one of the richest women in history, her net worth was an estimated $95.8 billion, according to the book "Cleopatra: A Life." Largely considered one of the smartest, most fascinating people of all time, Cleopatra spoke as many as a dozen different languages.
She considered herself a living goddess and used this to her advantage. Legend has it she once smuggled herself into Julius Caesar's personal quarters in a carpet or linen sack.

Brave and bold, she led several dozen Egyptian warships into battle while married to Mark Antony. The couple created their own drinking society called the Inimitable Livers.

Anne Cox Chambers

© Flickr.com / Aneo More than just an heiress, Anne Cox Chambers continues to sit on the board of her family business — Cox Enterprises — at the age of 97. Established as a newspaper business by her father, James M. Cox, in 1898, the privately held company has interests in communications, media and automotive services.
Once the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, Chambers also holds the French Legion of Honor title. Forbes estimates the media baroness' net worth at $17 billion.

Deemed the richest person in Atlanta by Forbes in 2016, Chambers is a billionaire with a charitable heart. She started donating portions of her income from a trust established by her father to charity in the 1980s, and by the time it was dissolved in 2015, all proceeds from the trust were being distributed to 32 groups.

Abigail Johnson
© Fidelity Investments In 1946, Abigail Johnson's grandfather founded Fidelity Management & Research Company. Today, she's the third-generation family member to helm the firm. As chairman and CEO of the company, Johnson presides over $5.4 trillion in customer assets as of June 30, 2016.

Unlike many legacy executives, Johnson has worked her way to the top. In high school and college, she served as a Fidelity customer service representative. She joined the company full-time in 1988, working as mutual fund manager, before entering the executive suite.

A Harvard grad, Johnson's net worth is an estimated $14.7 billion, according to Forbes. As of 2016, she was the richest person in Massachusetts.