Dilma Roussef, president of Brazil
Latinas made a leap in Forbe’s annual list of the world’s 100 most powerful women, and they range from high-powered politicians and energy magnates to singers and actresses.
Eight Latinas made the list (according to Huffington Post Latino) this year, up three from last year’s lineup. Here is the list of the most powerful Latinas in the world.
- #3 Dilma Rousseff: Brazil’s President was only behind German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Rousseff is the leader of the world’s seventh largest economy. While in office she’s worked to strengthen the country’s gross domestic product and eliminate poverty. She has also helped to give Brazilians more access to education, health care and housing.
- #16 Cristina Fernández de Kirchner: Argentina’s GDP has increased 37 percent since Kirchner took office as president of Argentina in 2007. Now in her second term as president, she has also enacted pension and child welfare benefits in an attempt to stamp out poverty.
- #20 Maria das Gracas Silva Foster: Foster is CEO of Brazilian energy corporation Petrobras, Brazil’s largest and most profitable energy corporation. She manages 91 percent of Brazil’s oil and 90 percent of its natural gas.
- #38 Jennifer Lopez: Earlier this year, J. Lo was #1 on Forbes’ Top 100 Celebrities. The Puerto Rican-American singer and actress made $52 million last year and founded the Lopez Family Foundation to help women and children.
- #40 Shakira: Colombian-born musician, dancer and model Shakira is world-famous for her songs and steamy dance moves, but she’s also a UNICEF ambassador, and created the Fundación Pies Descalzos (Barefoot Foundation) in 1996 to support worldwide education efforts.
- #54 Rosalia Mera: Mera, a Spanish billionaire and philanthropist, started the precursor of Zara retail stores with Inditex in 1985. She is the wealthiest woman in Spain and founded the Paideia Foundation, which helps education efforts for marginalized groups in society.
- #75 Sofia Vergara: Vergara, 40, was recently named the top-earning actress on U.S. television in another Forbes list. She is also the co-founder of LatinWE, a media company, and owns a clothing line. She made about $19 million over the past year.
- #83 Gisele Bündchen: Bündchen, a Brazilian, is one of Victoria’s Secret’s most famous models. She also owns a line of skincare products and is an ambassador for the U.N. Environmental Program.