A-list achievers

4 Dallas entrepreneurs rank among Forbes' richest self-made women for 2020

Addison-based Poo-Pourri founder Suzy Batiz is one of the richest self-made women in the U.S.

Photo courtesy of Poo-Pourri

She may not be a household name, but Texas billionaire tech entrepreneur Thai Lee is wealthier than Oprah Winfrey, earning her a spot among the 10 wealthiest women in the U.S.

Forbes places Lee at No. 8 on its new list of America's Richest Self-Made Women, with a net worth estimated at $3.2 billion. Forbes estimates Winfrey's net worth at $2.6 billion, which puts her in ninth place.

Lee, a native of Taiwan and holds an MBA from Harvard University. She is founder, president, and CEO of SHI International Corp., a provider of IT products and services with a projected revenue of $11 billion in 2020. SHI is based in Somerset, New Jersey, but Austin is home to SHI’s corporate call center.

In all, eight female entrepreneurs from Texas appear in the elite club of America’s richest self-made women, and four are from Dallas-Fort Worth:

Robyn Jones, No. 16. Her net worth is estimated at $1.1 billion. Jones is founder of Westlake-based Goosehead Insurance Agency LLC, which has more than 1,100 franchised offices.
April Anthony, No. 29. Forbes puts her net worth at $700 million. She is CEO of the Dallas-based home health and hospice division of Encompass Health Corp.
Kathleen Hildreth, No. 59. Her net worth is estimated at $370 million. Hildreth is co-founder of M1 Support Services LP, an aviation logistics company based in Denton.
Suzy Batiz, No. 84. Forbes estimates her net worth at $215 million. Batiz is founder of the Addison-based maker of the Poo-Pourri bathroom spray.

Hildreth and Batiz were the only two DFW entrepreneurs to repeat from last year's list.

In addition to Lee, the three other Texans who appear on the list are from Austin.

Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder and CEO of social media company Bumble, is worth an estimated $575 million, earning her the No. 39 spot. If recent reports are true, Herd could hit billionaire status if Bumble goes public.

Lisa Su ranks No. 44. The native of Taiwan is president and CEO of Santa Clara, California-based semiconductor company AMD. Forbes pegs Su’s net worth at $530 million. She lives in Austin, where AMD employs about 2,300 people.

Entrepreneur and new Shark Tank judge Kendra Scott comes in a No. 47. Forbes says she has amassed a net worth of $510 million as founder, chairwoman, and CEO of Kendra Scott LLC, which designs and sells jewelry.

Topping the Forbes list, released October 13, is Diane Hendricks. She is co-founder and chairwoman of Beloit, Wisconsin-based roofing, siding, and window distributor ABC Supply Co Inc. Her estimated net worth: $8 billion.

forbes lists

entrepreneurship starts here

Dallas leads on 2026 list of the best big cities to start a business

Photo by Gabriel Tovar on Unsplash

Dallas ranked 11th in the U.S. in 2026, and previously ranked 16th in 2025.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is showing its strong entrepreneurial spirit after Dallas and five of its neighbors appeared on WalletHub's new list of the best large U.S. cities for starting a business in 2026. Dallas leads the charge in North Texas as the No. 11 best city nationwide.

The annual report compared 100 U.S. cities based on 19 relevant metrics across three key dimensions: business environment, access to resources, and costs. Factors that were analyzed include five-year business survival rates, job growth comparisons from 2020 and 2024, population growth of working-age individuals aged 16-64, office space affordability, and more.

Florida cities locked out the top five best places in America for starting a new business: Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Hialeah, and St. Petersburg.

Dallas' business environment ranked as the fifth-best in the country, and the city ranked 45th for its "access to resources," and 64th in the "business costs" category. Dallas also topped a separate ranking of cities with the longest average workweeks nationwide.

Here's how Dallas compared in some of the other rankings in the study:

No. 24 – Numerical small business growth
No. 29 – Financing accessibility
No. 40 – Labor costs
No. 55 – Cost of living

Elsewhere in North Texas, Irving ranked No. 16 nationally, followed by Arlington (No. 23), Fort Worth (No. 30), Plano, (No. 35), and Garland (No. 65).

Earlier this year, WalletHub declared Texas the third-best state for starting a business in 2026, and several DFW cities have seen robust growth after being recognized among the top 20 best career hotspots in the U.S. WalletHub also ranked Plano the 7th best U.S. city for finding a job.

Only seven other Texas cities earned spots in the report: Austin (No. 24), Houston (No. 26), Lubbock (No. 36), Corpus Christi (No. 39), San Antonio (No. 64), El Paso (No. 67), and Laredo (No. 76).

Austin tied with Boise, Idaho and Fresno, California for the highest average growth in the number of small businesses nationally, while Corpus Christi and Laredo topped a separate list of the U.S. cities with the most accessible financing.

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