The (Very) Rich Woman's Dilemma

Welcome to Refinery29's weeklong exploration of women and greed in an era of enormous wealth inequality. Where does need end and greed begin? Read on.

Unless you’re Mother Teresa, at one point in your life, you’ve been motivated by the prospect of gaining access, affluence, and actual dollars. But what’s the difference between being wealthy and being greedy? Why do we love and worship some Oprah, but cast aspersions (sometimes vicious ones) on the Kardashians?

For celebrities, the public perception of wealth is complicated by a host of factors not least of which are questions about whether that money and fame was earned and deserved. But how much do we actually know about the bank accounts of the most famous women in the world, and how does their wealth relate to the public’s perception of them?

To best visualize the relationship between perceived wealth and likability, we created a grid. We paired net worth on the vertical axes so you can see just how rich these household names are with public perception (likability) on the horizontal axes. These two things aren’t always one to one, but the bank accounts of these women are all in the millions.