CEO of the Week: Meet Abigail Johnson, wealthiest woman in the world

Fidelity Investments, formerly known as Fidelity Management & Research (FMR) is an American international financial services company.

It was founded in 1946 and as of December 2021, it is one of the largest asset management companies in the world with a valuation of $4.5 trillion.

Fidelity Investments manages a huge family of mutual funds, runs a brokerage business, offers life insurance, retirement services, index funds, wealth management, securities execution and clearance, and custody of assets in addition to fund distribution and investment advice.

Currently, Fidelity has 40 million individual investors, $9.6 trillion in assets under management, $3.6 trillion in discretionary assets, and handles 3.1 million trades each day.

Abigail Johnson, the CEO of Fidelity Investments and a 59-year-old philanthropist who is still running her family business the traditional way, is the brains behind this successful venture.

Who is Abigail Johnson?

1. Abigail Johnson is an American billionaire businesswoman and granddaughter of late Edward C. Johnson II, the founder of Fidelity Investments
2. She graduated from Hobart and William Smith college, United States, with a bachelor degree in art history in 1984 and did her MBA at Harvard Business School
3. In 1988, she joined Fidelity Investments as an analyst and portfolio manager
4. In 2001, she was promoted to President of Fidelity Asset Management, a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments
5. In 2007, she becomes one of three vice chairperson, and was promoted to president of Fidelity Investments in 2012
6. In 2014, she was appointed as Fidelity CEO by father Edward Johnson and in 2016 she became chairman of the company
7. Abigail Johnson gave Republican contender Jeb Bush $2,700 in 2015—the maximum amount that can be legally given to a presidential primary campaign
8. Abigail was named on Forbes’ “The Richest Person In America’s 50 Largest Cities” list in 2016 and ranked sixth in 2021 on their “Powerful Women” list
9. She was the richest person in Massachusetts in 2020, and as of 2023, her wealth is around $22.6 billion
10. As of 2024, according to Forbes, her net worth is 3,050 crores USD