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Eight Texas women have made Forbes' latest and sixth annual America's Richest Self-Made Women list released Tuesday. Of the eight, four of them call Austin home, which is more than any other city in the state. Together, the Austin women are worth more than $4.8 billion.
Here are the four Austin women on the list:
Thai Lee, $3.2 billion
Coming in at eighth place on the list, Thai Lee is no stranger to Forbes, as she also made Forbes' 400 earlier this year. Lee is the CEO of IT provider SHI International, which has over 20,000 customers including big names like AT&T. Lee lived in South Korea until high school, when she moved to the U.S. A Harvard MBA alumna, Lee majored in biology and economics because she wanted to avoid speaking English in class.
Whitney Wolfe Herd, $575 million
TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco 2018 - Day 2(Steve Jennings/CC)
Ranking 39th on the list, Whitney Wolfe Herd has changed the online dating scape as we know it. Herd is the CEO and founder of Bumble, a dating app where women make the first move. The businesswoman is dedicated to empowerment of women; Bumble was originally intended to be a social media platform for women—the app even has a venture fund dedicated to investing in women-run businesses. Herd has almost doubled her wealth since last year, clocking in then at $290 million.
Lisa Su, $530 million
(Gene Wang/CC)
At 44th place, Lisa Su has made a name for herself in the tech sector. Since she became CEO of semiconductor firm Advanced Micro Devices in 2014, stock prices have risen 20-fold. Su was born in Taiwan but raised in the U.S., where she achieved her Ph.D in electrical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Su has also worked at big tech companies like IBM and Texas Instruments. The businesswoman was also featured in Forbes' Top 50 Women in Tech in 2018.
Kendra Scott, $510 million
Though she may be last on the list, Scott is possibly the most well-known businesswoman in Texas. In addition to founding her own jewelry empire, appropriately named after herself, Scott now boasts a teaching position at UT and will take a seat as a guest Shark on ABC's "Shark Tank" in the upcoming season. The jewelry mogul started her business in her spare bedroom at home because she couldn't find quality jewelry she could afford at the time. Scott has been featured in Forbes' Self-Made Women list since 2017.
The full list was calculated using stock prices from Sept. 11 of this year.
More on Austin's wealthy:
- Who are the Austin billionaires? The new list is out. - austonia ›
- Five reasons why Elon Musk and Grimes should choose Austin ... ›
- Who is Nate Paul, the real estate investor linked to abuse-of-office ... ›
- Austin Kendra Scott selling earrings designed by UT students - austonia ›
- Elon Musk surpasses Jeff Bezos as richest person in the world - austonia ›
- Bumble files to go public, Digital Realty makes move to Austin - austonia ›
- 11 women on the cutting edge of Austin development - austonia ›
- 10 Austinites makes Forbes' 2021 list of global billionaires - austonia ›
- Austin ranked among top global cities for entrepreneurs - austonia ›
- Austin ranked among top global cities for entrepreneurs - austonia ›
- Bumble: 2 out of 3 people say you can fall in love before meeting - austonia ›
- Dating apps expect to feel more pandemic love as COVID surges - austonia ›
- Forbes 400 names seven Austin billionaires and two bite the dust - austonia ›
- Central Texas women are joining manufacturing at record pace - austonia ›
- Rich residents find Austin and wealth management sees a boom - austonia ›
- Elon Musk and eight Austinites make Forbes Billionaires list - austonia ›
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Historic preservationists, for their part, overwhelmingly support historic zoning, which would preserve the buildings in perpetuity. The Historic Landmark Commission unanimously voted to initiate historic zoning in July, citing architectural significance, landscape features and association to historic figures. City staffers recommend historic zoning, calling both structures one-of-a-kind examples of vernacular architecture.
Tarrytown neighbors have also banded together to stop the demolition. Many have written letters, and a few spoke at the meeting. “How could anyone buy this property with the intent of destroying it?” Ila Falvey said. “I think it’s an architectural treasure.”
Michael Whellan, an attorney representing the property owner, said that the claims made by preservationists are shaky. The buildings are run down, he said, and have had substantial renovations. A structural engineer hired by the owner said any attempt at preservation would involve tearing down and rebuilding – an undertaking Whellan said would likely cost millions.
Whellan also argued that any historical significance derived from the property’s association with Delisle and longtime owner C.H. Slator is dubious. “These men are not noted for any civic, philanthropic or historic impact,” he said.
What’s more, according to Whellan, Slator likely participated in segregation as the owner of the Tavern on North Lamar Boulevard between 1953 and 1960.
A city staffer, however, said she found no evidence to support the claim. “We would never landmark a property where a segregationist lived, or there was a racist person,” Kimberly Collins with the Historic Preservation Office said.
Commissioner Awais Azhar couldn’t support historic zoning in part due to lingering uncertainty about Slator. “Focusing on that factor is not here to disparage an individual or family. It is not about playing the race card. This is an important assertion for us to consider as Planning commissioners,” Azhar said.
Commissioner Carmen Llanes Pulido said that allegations of racism should come as no surprise. “We’re talking about white male property owners in the 1950s, in Austin, on the west side – and of course they were racist,” she said. But she argued that allowing the house to be demolished based on these grounds does nothing to help people of color who have been harmed by racism and segregation.
The question of tax breaks was also controversial. Michael Gaudini, representing the property owner, said that the tax breaks associated with historic zoning would exacerbate inequality by shifting property tax burdens to less affluent communities. City staffers estimate that the property, appraised at $3.5 million, would get either a $8,500 or $16,107 property tax break annually, depending on whether a homestead exemption is applied.
Commissioner Grayson Cox preferred the commission focus not on tax breaks but on whether the structures merit preservation. “To me, nothing in the historic preservation criteria lists, is this person deserving of a tax break or not?”
Azhar, on the other hand, said he plans to propose a code amendment getting rid of city property tax breaks for historic properties.
The commission fell one vote short of recommending historic zoning, with six commissioners in support and three opposed. Azhar and commissioners Claire Hempel and Greg Anderson voted against.
The odds of City Council zoning over an owner’s wishes are slim. Nine out of 11 members must vote in favor, and there have only been a handful of such cases over the past several decades.
