Armenian Woman in the Ranking of the Most Successful Businesswomen by "Forbes"
An American woman of Armenian origin Carolyn Rafaelyan appeared in the rating of the most successful US businesswomen. She took the 26th place in the "Forbes" magazine.
49-year-old Carolyn owns "Alex and Ani" jewelery company.
The company was founded in 2004 by Carolyn Rafaelian. The name comes from a combination of the first names of Rafaelian's two daughters. The company originally stated that they wanted to produce "bangle bracelets, necklaces, earrings and rings that adorn the body, enlighten the mind, and empower the spirit". The company first manufactured its jewelry in a factory that was founded by Rafaelian's father in 1966 and all materials are made in America. The first retail Alex and Ani store opened in Newport in 2009, and in addition to the stand-alone stores, the jewelry was sold through national departments stores.
The company first came to national attention in 2004, when they produced a necklace featuring an apple for Gwyneth Paltrow following the birth of her daughter Apple, leading to a large number of orders of similar merchandise. The company has described its products as "eco-friendly"; much of the materials used in the firm's designs is either recycled or from vintage articles.
In 2010, Alex and Ani — named after two of Rafaelian’s daughters — did an estimated $4.5 million in revenues. By 2015, sales had hit $500 million.
Rafaelian joins the ranks at #22, with an estimated net worth of $700 million, making her the second newcomer, after Gail Miller, billionaire owner of basketball’s Utah Jazz.
She’s the richest self-made woman in the nation to derive her wealth from jewelry, and joins an impressive group of fashion and retail moguls on Forbes’ ranking that includes Spanx founder Sara Blakely, preppie-chic designer Tory Burch, and bridal tycoon Vera Wang.
Alex and Ani now has 65 freestanding stores as well as concessions in hundreds of department stores and boutiques.
Other materials on this subject
- Alenush Teryan: Iran’s First Female Astronomer and Founder of First Solar Observatory “My daughter’s name is sun, my son’s name is moon”, would say Iran’s first astronomer and founder of the first solar observatory Alenush Teryan.
- Armenian Hakob Martayan - the Founder of the Modern Turkish Language When Kemal Ataturk decided to implement a reform of the Turkish language and translate the Ottoman-Turkish language (Osmanli) from Arabian into the Latin alphabet, he requested Hakob Martayan to do the...
- Asatour Sarafian, the Inventor of Automatic Transmission For Automobiles Asatour Sarafian, was an Armenian American inventor who patented a number of works, including an automatic transmission for automobiles, the needleless inoculation gun, the primary controls of the first...
- Alexander Leonovich Kemurdzhian, Designer of the First Planet Rover The mission of Kemurdzhian’s life was the design of space technology and participation in the design of the world's first automatic self-propelled apparatus for research on the lunar surface.
- Armenian Anita Caracotchian: The First Female Oceanographer in the World “A part of my people lived at the sea for 300 years, we had glorious Cilicia, that harbored more than one thousand Armenian ships having tight commercial ties with the most powerful countries. After...
-
17:08The regular session of the Anti-corruption Policy Council takes place in Jermuk
-
15:05The Prime Minister sends congratulatory messages to the supreme leader of Iran and the President of Iran
-
11:11Armenia sends earthquake aid to Turkey
-
10:43Commemoration of the Pontiff St. Sahak Partev
-
09:16Some roads are closed and difficult to pass in Armenia
-
19:55Phone conversation of the Foreign Minister of Armenia with the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs
-
18:30Prime Minister Pashinyan and President Khachaturyan meet
-
18:20Ararat Mirzoyan with Co-Chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group of France Brice Roquefeuil
-
17:01Humans could land on Mars within 10 years, Musk predicts
-
16:45France, US urge 'immediate' end to Nagorno Karabakh blockade
-
16:01Blockaded Nagorno Karabakh launches fundraiser to support quake-hit Syria
-
15:59Earthquake death toll in Turkey rises to 18,342
-
15:43Ararat Mirzoyan Held a Telephone Conversation with Sergey Lavrov
-
15:06French president rules out fighter jet supplies to Ukraine in near future
-
14:475 Day Weather Forecast in Armenia
-
14:44President Vahagn Khachaturyan wrote a note in the book of condolences opened in the Embassy of Syria in Armenia
-
14:20Azerbaijan’s provocations impede establishment of peace and stability – Armenian FM tells Russian Co-Chair of OSCE MG
-
12:57France representation to OSCE: Paris calls on Azerbaijan to restore freedom of movement through Lachin corridor
-
11:40Command of Kosovo forces highly appreciated preparation of Armenian peacekeepers
-
10:16The United States withdrew from sanctions against Syria for six months the provision of assistance after the earthquake
day
week
month
Humidity: %
Wind: km/h