An American woman worth $700 million has just turned 92 and is now one of the country's richest self-made women.

At 92 years old, Joan Payden is one of America's oldest self-made women and also one of its richest.

Payden founded Payden & Rygel in 1983 after leaving her job and draining her 401(k), according to Forbes. The company now manages over $161 billion in assets and has nearly 240 employees in various offices, as stated on its website.

Payden's net worth has increased with the firm, making her a newcomer on Forbes' 2024 list of America's Richest Self-Made Women with an estimated worth of approximately $700 million as a majority owner.

Payden's journey to success took place over several decades. After studying math and physics at Trinity College in Washington, D.C., Payden became one of a few women engineers at a New Jersey-based company constructing oil refineries in the 1950s. However, she was laid off after three years due to a mass layoff, as reported by Forbes.

She was disappointed but regrouped, seeking to apply her math background in the financial sector. After landing a junior associate role at Merrill Lynch, Payden shared with the Los Angeles Times in 1999 that she was hired at a 25% discount because she didn't know the difference between a bond and stock.

In a few years, she relocated to Los Angeles to work at Scudder, Stevens & Clark, a renowned financial management company. Despite several attempts at advancement, she eventually became the firm's first female partner. However, she failed at least one of those attempts because she did not participate in an annual meeting on a men-only golf course, as Payden disclosed to Notre Dame students in 2011.

"Payden stated that their annual meetings took place at a grand golf course, but they wouldn't allow women to attend. As a result, Payden sat on the porch."

Payden stated in an interview with Trinity's alumni magazine in 2013 that her experiences had led her to believe that her gender should not dictate her career success, saying, "I am either a good financial advisor or not. I am not 'a good woman financial advisor.'"

In 1983, she expressed concern about remaining in the same place for another decade and decided to start her own business. She enlisted her colleague Sandra Rygel to join her, cashed out her 401(k) for seed money, and formed Payden & Rygel.

"When I started my company, I had concerns about getting clients, but I overcame that challenge," Payden said to The Los Angeles Times.

After her departure from Scudder, Stevens & Clark, she established her own private money management firm, which has since grown to become one of the largest in the U.S. In 1997, her former employer was acquired by the Zurich Insurance Group for approximately $1.7 billion.

Payden advised aspiring entrepreneurs who are hesitant to take a significant step: "When you dive into the lake, you can't worry about drowning," she said in an interview with Trinity's alumni magazine. "I have no regrets," she added. "At the time, and now it's clear, the risk of not acting outweighed the risk of taking action."

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