Sara Blakely — Spanx ($1.2 Billion)

Blakely was selling fax machines door-to-door when she cut the feet off her pantyhose and invented Spanx. She had no fashion experience, no business degree, and $5,000 in savings. She wrote her own patent to save money on lawyers. Spanx generated $400 million in annual revenue by 2023. Blackstone bought a majority stake valuing the company at $1.2 billion. Blakely became the youngest self-made female billionaire in history at 41. She celebrated by giving every employee two first-class plane tickets and $10,000 spending money. From fax machines to Forbes — in pantyhose she mutilated herself.