Meet The World's Richest Self-Made Woman

Forbes

Rafaela Aponte-Diamant and her husband Gianluigi each own a 50% stake in MSC, the world's largest shipping line. Rafaela first met Gianluigi on a trip to the Italian island of Capri in the 1960s, when Gianluigi was a ship captain.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/profile/rafaela-aponte-diamant/?sh=1bdce3141bdc  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00 Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Sunday, April 7.

00:05 Today on Forbes, meet the world's richest self-made woman.

00:11 In January 2022, as containers piled up at the congested ports of Long Beach and Los

00:16 Angeles in California, the two busiest in the U.S., a momentous shift was taking place

00:21 in the shipping industry.

00:23 Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company, or MSC, had overtaken publicly traded

00:29 Danish giant Maersk as the largest shipping line in the world by container capacity.

00:36 From its headquarters in Geneva, MSC controls a fleet of 730 ships that can carry more than

00:42 4.8 million containers, according to shipping database Alphaliner.

00:47 The company doesn't publish financials, but shipping expert John McCown estimates that

00:52 MSC brought in more than $28 billion in earnings in 2022, putting it ahead of Maersk.

00:59 Unlike its Danish competitor, MSC is a private company, co-owned by husband-and-wife duo

01:05 Gian Luigi and Raffaella Aponte.

01:09 Since 2019, the Apontes have reaped the rewards of a pandemic-driven boom which has added

01:14 billions of dollars to the fortunes of shipping dynasties around the world.

01:19 Their wealth is tied up almost entirely in MSC, which besides its container shipping

01:24 operations also owns holiday cruise line MSC Cruises, inland cargo business Medlog,

01:30 and container terminal operator Terminal Investment Limited.

01:35 Forbes now estimates that Gian Luigi and Raffaella are each worth $33.1 billion, up from $8.4

01:42 billion apiece in 2022.

01:44 That makes Raffaella, who co-founded MSC with Gian Luigi in 1970, the world's richest self-made

01:51 woman thanks to her 50% stake in MSC.

01:55 She is ranked No. 48 on Forbes' 2024 World's Billionaires list and also appears to be the

02:01 highest-ranked female founder of all time.

02:04 To find out more about the richest self-made women billionaires on our list, check out

02:08 our briefing from Friday.

02:10 In 1970, the Apontes obtained a $200,000 loan to buy their first ship, a small cargo vessel

02:17 named Patricia.

02:19 They launched MSC in Geneva the same year and grew by buying second-hand ships and targeting

02:24 less-trafficked routes, such as those from Europe to Africa.

02:28 Their second ship was named Raffaella, and by 1979 they had accumulated 17.

02:35 Over the years, MSC grew into one of the largest shipping firms in the world.

02:40 In 1988, they expanded into Cruises with the acquisition of the liner Monterey.

02:44 It was a good bet.

02:46 MSC Cruises is now one of the largest cruise firms in the world, competing with its three

02:51 publicly traded rivals, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian.

02:56 That same year, they also launched Medlog, an inland logistics firm.

03:01 In 2000, MSC ventured into container terminals, establishing Terminal Investment Limited.

03:06 In the 2010s, they expanded into passenger ferries in the Mediterranean Sea.

03:12 More than five decades since MSC's founding, the family still maintains tight control over

03:17 the company.

03:18 Gianluigi and Raffaella are the only shareholders with a 50% stake each.

03:23 Gianluigi is the firm's executive chairman, and their son, Diego, is president.

03:29 Raffaella serves on the board of the MSC Foundation and is responsible for decorating cruise ships.

03:35 Despite not having a formal position in the MSC empire, Raffaella has played a key part

03:40 in the company's growth, according to Dominique Denat, who loaned Leopante's the money to

03:44 purchase their first ship in 1970.

03:47 He told Swiss newspaper Le Matin in 2022, "Her role is decisive.

03:53 She is a very strong character."

03:57 For full coverage, check out Giacomo Tagni's piece on Forbes.com.

04:02 This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

04:04 Thanks for tuning in.

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