Susanne Klatten is the world's 5th richest woman in the world. With a wealth of $13.2 billion, she is also the 55th richest person in the Forbes richest list.

The 45-year old Klatten inherited a stake in auto giant BMW (Bayerische Motoren Werke AG ) from her father Herbert Quandt. BMW is one of the world's leading performance-luxury manufacturers of cars and motorcycles.

She also inherited 50 per cent stake in pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturer Altana. In September 2006, Altana sold its pharmaceutical division to Scandinavian firm Nycomed for $6 billion. Susanne bagged a good deal as well.

She was instrumental in transforming Altana into a world-class pharmaceutical corporation.