Romanian "queen of eyebrows" ranks higher than Beyonce, JLo and Serena Williams on Forbes list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women

Romanian makeup mogul Anastasia Soare, 62, ranks 41st in this year’s list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women released by Forbes on October 13. Her estimated net worth is USD 540 million, placing her just behind international pop star Madonna – USD 550 mln.

The Romanian born-entrepreneur, who became famous as the “queen of eyebrows” at Hollywood, is higher on the list than many international music, film, and sports stars such as Celine Dion – USD 455 mln, Beyonce – USD 420 mln, Barbara Streisand – USD 400 mln, Taylor Swift – USD 365 mln, Serena Williams – USD 225 mln, Reese Witherspoon – USD 200 mln, Lady Gaga – USD 150 mln, and Jennifer Lopez – USD 150 mln. She also outranks famous authors as Nora Roberts and Danielle Steel, and fashion designers such as Donna Karan and Vera Wang.

In 2019, Anastasia Soare was even higher on the list, at number 21, with an estimated net worth of USD 1.2 billion. That was after her company, Anastasia Beverly Hills, received an investment from private equity firm TPG that valued it at USD 3 billion. In the meantime, Fitch Ratings said in April 2020 that it expected a 30% drop in the company’s revenues this year and that its capital structure was unsustainable due to the high debt level, according to Forbes. This caused the drop in Anastasia Soare’s net worth according to the new ranking.

Even so, she remains one of the richest self-made women in the US and probably the richest self-made Romanian woman as well.

Anastasia Soare immigrated to Los Angeles in 1989, when she was only 30, and got a job in a beauty salon. Three years later, she opened her own salon in Beverly Hills, and in 2000, she launched a line of eyebrow products under the name Anastasia Beverly Hills. However, her business started booming after 2012, when the company diversified its product range from brow products to makeup and Anastasia Beverly Hills became a cult brand on Instagram. Anastasia Soare’s daughter, Claudia Soare, followed in her mother’s footsteps and now president and creative director of the company, while also working on her own makeup line – Norvina – within the Anastasia Beverly Hills brand.

Anastasia Soare is not the only presence in America’s Richest Self-Made Women ranking that is connected to Romania. Safra Catz, the CEO of software giant Oracle, and number 16 in the ranking with a net worth of USD 1.1 bln, also has Romanian roots. Her father born in Romania.

The richest Romanian in the world also lives in the US. She is Jenny Paulson, the wife of hedge fund manager John Paulson, whose fortune is estimated at USD 4.2 bln.