Forbes_USA_June_13_2017

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America’s Richest Self-Made Women hen Alex and Ani founder and CEO Carolyn Rafaelian walks into a room, you hear her before you see her. She clinks and jangles her way into her office under layers of bracelets, necklaces, cuffs and rings in both precious metals and coated brass, 12 of which she designed herself. The biggest noise emanates from her celestial-chic jewelry brand’s bestselling products: charm bangles, of which it has released thousands of iterations, to commemorate lifetime milestones or show off zodiac signs, sports team allegiances, favorite charities and religious totems. Peace, love and big bucks, since these stackable bangles, made from recycled scrap metal, cost customers about $33 apiece—and Rafaelian is moving over 10 million a year. “It’s not the money that’s the driving force behind this,” Rafaelian says in her Rhode Island accent, which rhymes “force” with “boss,” unable to distract from the math that belies that claim. From its headquarters in unassuming Cranston, Rhode Island, Alex and Ani’s revenues have skyrocketed from $5 million in 2010 to over $500 million in 2016, insiders say, with a net profit margin, according to private equity database Pitchbook, that was recently 23%. Rafaelian says she believes each piece is imbued with energy that can have a positive effect on its wearer (she has a priest and a shaman bless her inventory), but her markups on 7½ inches of contorted wire show her to be a master marketer. “They don’t really sell jewelry,” says Brent Cleaveland, executive director of the Fashion Jewelry & Accessories Trade Association. “They sell positive energy. The bracelet is just a vehicle.” Every Alex and Ani bangle comes with a “meaning card.” A Buddhist om symbol, for example, “signifies God, higher power and the oneness of all beings in life’s cycle.” A simple sailboat charm “bestows peace to its wearer in times of change.” And this universe of good vibes encourages fans of the brand to collect them all. Bangles and bracelets make up 80% of total sales; an ini- Women to Watch THESE FOUR ENTREPRENEURS—AND POTENTIAL FUTURE LIST MEMBERS—HAVE FORGED GROWING FORTUNES FROM NEW IDEAS ON HOW TO IMPROVE HEALTH CARE, COMBAT WRINKLES, USE CELEBRITY TO PITCH PRODUCTS AND MAKE ECO-AWARENESS STYLISH. Jennifer Aniston Sarah Kauss $200 MILLION AGE: 48 RESIDENCE: LOS ANGELES Former Friends star still ranks among the world’s highestpaid actresses, with sevenfigure fees for lowbrow offerings such as Mother’s Day and Office Christmas Party. Today she makes more cash from modeling than movies, thanks to endorsements for the likes of Emirates Airlines, Smartwater and Aveeno. Still, the bulk of her net worth is derived from career earnings of some $400 million (pretax), a chunk of which comes from her Friends salary and the show’s syndication. By the NBC comedy’s final season, in 2004, she was earning $1.25 million an episode, more than today’s top TV stars—from The Big Bang Theory—make each episode. $180 MILLION AGE: 41 RESIDENCE: JUPITER, FLORIDA A former accountant who went to college in Boulder, Colorado, Kauss had the idea to bring chic, reusable water bottles to the masses. She launched her first of now more than 200 designs in 2010, funded with $30,000 of her savings. Today her sleek, stainless steel S’well bottles have become one of the most coveted accessories for people to tote, from spin class to board meetings. The bottles are sold in 65 countries in such stores as J.Crew, Nordstrom and Starbucks. Revenues topped $100 million in 2016, up from $10 million in 2014. She still owns 100% of S’well. PORTRAIT ILLUSTRATIONS BY BEN PERINI FOR FORBES 72 | FORBES JUNE 13, 2017
CAROLYN RAFAELIAN tiative to use Alex and Ani jewelry as a fundraising tool makes up about 20% of total sales, adding another layer of karma—and profits. That’s how Rafaelian surged from a one-woman band run out of her father’s Rhode Island factory basement into America’s only jewelry billionaire—and the No. 18 spot on the Forbes list of America’s Richest Self- Made Women (see p. 86)—owning 80% of a company worth at least $1.2 billion. She’s enjoying the trappings— fixing up a 56,000-square-foot mansion in Newport that she will open as a museum (see p. 16) and testing out new grape varietals at her Sakonnet Vineyards in nearby Little Compton. An IPO awaits. “If I wanted to do that, we’re primed, we’re ready,” she says. “We can pull the switch at any time.” It’s rare that the public markets ever encounter a CEO like this 50-yearold free spirit, who has been known to consult planetary charts during decision making. Rafaelian says she was the sort of kid who had an imaginary friend. And while she was raised in the Rafaelian believes her jewelry is imbued with positive energy—a priest and shaman bless each piece. Christian Armenian Apostolic faith, Rafaelian borrows bits and pieces from other religions and traditions. She keeps dried bundles of sage in her office drawer to burn when she needs to smoke out negative energy and a healing quartz crystal on a file cabinet behind her desk. Not quite everyone’s cup of herbal tea. But Rafaelian’s products let a generation that craves authenticity wear their affinities on their sleeve. “There’s no ambiguity that jewelry like Alex and Ani has become something the consumer covets now,” says Christopher Burch, who backed his former wife Tory (see p. 89) as well as Alex and Ani competitor BaubleBar. “It’s no longer an afterthought. It’s part of her wardrobe.” Little-known fact: The world’s costume jewelry capital was, for generations, America’s smallest state. Just 30 years ago, roughly 80% of that product was made in Rhode Island. Like much of American manufacturing, it’s mostly gone overseas, but Rafaelian traces her roots to this business and this state. Her father married into the industry, working for his brother-in-law manufacturing brooches and earrings for big names of the age like Trifari and Monet. In 1966, the year Rafaelian was born, he founded his own company, Cinerama Jewelry, based in Cranston, just outside of Providence. He made costume jewelry of all kinds, Jini Kim $170 MILLION AGE: 36 RESIDENCE: SAN FRANCISCO Daughter of South Korean immigrants helped her parents care for her brother, who was diagnosed with severe autism and, later, epilepsy. Because her parents couldn’t understand English very well yet, Kim was tasked with the complex job of registering her brother for Medicaid when she was just 9 years old. She helped start Google Public Data and worked on the HealthCare.gov launch. In 2010 she founded Nuna to use data to help make health care more efficient. According to venture-capital fundraising database Pitchbook, Nuna raised $60 million in June 2016, valuing the business at some $600 million. Jamie O’Banion $50 MILLION AGE: 35 RESIDENCE: DALLAS Former model teamed up with her dermatologist father in 2011 to form Beauty Bioscience, which began by making antiwrinkle creams. After a minority equity investment from direct-marketing firm Guthy- Renker in 2015, CEO O’Banion launched GloPro in 2016, a $200 at-home “microneedling” device. The tool, which splits skin cells to stimulate collagen production, sold out in its first day on home shopping channel HSN. That helped lift 2016 sales to $30 million. GloPro, which is sold in high-end retailers Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, is slated to launch in Harrods and Sephora later this year. JUNE 13, 2017 FORBES | 73
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DISCOVER THE #WinstonGarden
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Contents // JUNE 13, 2017 VOLUME 19
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Here’s to breaking more glass cei
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UNICEF does not endorse any brand o
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Suchi Mehta, Sheraton Associate sin
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FACT & COMMENT “With all thy gett
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Slack is where work happens, for mi
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LeaderBoard ABOUT-FACE The rear of
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LeaderBoard ENTERTAINMENT Hello, Do
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LeaderBoard ON THE BLOCK Time Machi
Page 25 and 26: Learn why enterprises worldwide tru
Page 27 and 28: REL ABLE You rely on your employees
Page 29 and 30: O-mobile: Jerry Seinfeld got coffee
Page 31 and 32: THE ETERNAL MOVEMENT Ulysse Nardin,
Page 34 and 35: LeaderBoard CONVERSATION THE INTERE
Page 36 and 37: Where Creativity Connects. Spring i
Page 38 and 39: STRATEGIES 36 | FORBES MONTH 00, 20
Page 40 and 41: STRATEGIES most successful technolo
Page 42 and 43: STRATEGIES Farquhar and Cannon-Broo
Page 44 and 45: STRATEGIES Mohammed bin Salman, 31
Page 46 and 47: STRATEGIES How the West Was Won Des
Page 48: TECHNOLOGY FAST TECH 25 Big Pharma
Page 51 and 52: CEO, JON ORINGER SHUTTERSTOCK Shutt
Page 54 and 55: 3 0 3 0 U N D E R OFFICE MATES ORGA
Page 56 and 57: ENTREPRENEURS Google Slayer Startin
Page 58 and 59: ENTREPRENEURS HUMAN RESOURCES HOW T
Page 60 and 61: ENTREPRENEURS SMALL GIANTS Lightbul
Page 62: ENTREPRENEURS Vidal later joined Ta
Page 65 and 66: your co-conspirator might give you
Page 68 and 69: INVESTING FUNDS Build the Wall! Por
Page 70 and 71: Passion fuels potential. Inspiratio
Page 72 and 73: America’s Richest Self-Made Women
Page 76 and 77: Sponsored Inspiring Greatness: ADVA
Page 96 and 97: THE LOOMING RETAIL BAILOUT Think Am
Page 98 and 99: FORBES RETAIL BAILOUT CHEAP LABOR H
Page 100 and 101: FORBES RETAIL BAILOUT 10 5 0% % 10
Page 102 and 103: THE BIG CHEESE FROM PIZZA HUT AND D
Page 104 and 105: THE CHEESE KING An avalanche of che
Page 106 and 107: THE CHEESE KING Just as his timing
Page 108 and 109: FORBES LIFE The Second Time Around
Page 110 and 111: THOUGHTS ON Pioneers “I don’t r
Page 112 and 113: LET’S LACE UP OUR SHOES. LET’S
Page 114 and 115: HOW ONE WOMAN LAUNCHED A PUBLIC HEA
Page 116: THE ZIP SHOULDER TOTE DETROIT • W
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