How America's Richest Female Farmer Became The Fourth-Richest Self-Made Woman In America
It's one of my favorite times of year, and no, I'm not talking about the start of strawberry season. This week Forbes unveiled its annual issue dedicated to America's Richest Self-Made Women. And it's a big one—the 10-year anniversary. It hits particularly home for me since this June also marks a full decade for me on Forbes' staff. A major milestone for a journalist!
I've worked on the Self-Made list, as our newsroom calls it, since its inception, and over the years I have had a hand in celebrating listmakers from BET cofounder Sheila Johnson to United Therapeutics founder Martine Rothblatt through the issues' pages. From the food world, this year's ranking features Lynda Resnick, America's richest female farmer, as No. 4. I've been writing about Resnick since my earliest days at Forbes and continue to find the vastness of her ventures through the Wonderful Company—from Fiji Water to Wonderful pistachios to seedless lemons and the country's largest bee colony—fascinating. The spread also features Panda Express cofounder Peggy Cherng as well as Merrilee Kick, the former public school teacher in Texas who landed a massive deal for her booze brand BuzzBallz last year when it was acquired by billionaire-owned spirits conglomerate Sazerac.
Other names you might be excited to see in the issue include Selena Gomez, Sara Blakeley (of Spanx fame) and Serena Williams. It's an exceptional group of 100 entrepreneurs and industry game-changers. Enjoy perusing it all!
— Chloe Sorvino
This is Forbes' Fresh Take newsletter, which every Wednesday brings you the latest on the big ideas changing the future of food. Want to get it in your inbox every week? Sign up here.
From left: Daniela Amodei, Selena Gomez, Gwynne Shotwell
Bigger fortunes. More billionaires. Increasing impact. We mark the 10th anniversary of our annual list of America's most successful self-made women by celebrating how far these 100 entrepreneurs have come: There are 38 billionaires this year, with fortunes originating in everything from cars to cosmetics to chardonnay.
ORLANDO KISSNER/AFP via Getty Images
Big Ag Spying: Don't miss this Wired investigation about a powerful agricultural lobby that for years 'led a persistent and often covert campaign to surveil, discredit and suppress animal rights organizations,' and then hand-delivered the opposition research to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The network of informants relayed information to FBI agents within its department of Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate in an effort to convince the government that animal activists are 'the preeminent bioterrorism threat to the United States.'
Chef Sean Sherman, owner and chef at Owamni prepares cricket to be served in his restaurant in Minneapolis, Minnesota on February 3, 2023.
Decolonizing The Food System: Chef Sean Sherman—who is behind the award-winning Minneapolis restaurant Owamni (where I had one of the most mind-blowing meals of my life, as previously covered in this newsletter) as well as his Native-owned pantry staples marketplace Indigenous Food Lab—is expanding his vision, Civil Eats reports. I got an early taste of some of his plans myself when I moderated a keynote fireside chat with Sherman at Expo West 2024 and I'm thrilled to see some concrete news that will bring that all to life. Along with a forthcoming second cookbook called Turtle Island, Sherman is opening his second outpost of Indigenous Food Lab later this year in Bozeman, Montana and is also starting a venture called Meals For Native Institutions, which will address the lack of culturally appropriate meals at institutions like schools, hospitals, prisons and community centers.
Boxes of Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers are stacked at a Costco Wholesale store on April 27, 2025 in San Diego, California.
Cooking At Home Is Back: Or so Campbell's chief executive says. As the Wall Street Journal reports, the beleaguered soup company reported earnings this week that left its stock struggling. And while on first blush it may seem like Campbell's iconic soup cans might do well with more Americans tightening their budgets and less eating out, well, turns out, that's not the case for all its products. Cambell's snacking portfolio of brands like Cape Cod chips, Pepperidge Farms and Goldfish, for example, have not been performing as well as corporate leadership would like.
The Price Of Milk
The documentary series The Price of Milk, is premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival this Sunday, June 8, with an additional screening on Thursday, June 12. I'd love to see you there! (Full disclosure: I hear Sunday is down to standby-only tickets.) It's my Tribeca Film Festival debut and I'm excited to see this important topic brought to life!
FRANCK FERVILLE/AGENCE VU/REDUX 1
It was fun to podcast about my recent article on Chobani and its billionaire founder Hamdi Ulukaya. Check out the full interview here.
Chloe Sorvino
Maybe the best strawberry shortcake I've ever tasted, after a luxuriously drawn-out lunch at the New York City outpost of Venice Beach-famed restaurant Gjelina.
Thanks for reading the 145th edition of Forbes Fresh Take! Let me know what you think. Subscribe to Forbes Fresh Take here.
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