In 2010, Nancy Whiteman quit her lucrative consulting job to make cannabis-infused edibles in Boulder, Colorado, despite recreational cannabis still being illegal at the time. Her risk-taking paid off when four years later, the state legalized retail sales of marijuana.

Today, Whiteman, the 64-year-old founder of Wana, a company that specializes in edible cannabis products, is among the wealthiest self-made women in the United States, with a net worth of $225 million, as reported by Forbes.

“I like to say I went from the most traditional industry to the least traditional industry,” Whiteman said in 2018. “I wanted a business where I could build value, and it didn’t depend on me. I also love to cook.”

Much of Whiteman’s fortune comes from selling Wana for $350 million in 2021 to Canopy Growth, an Ontario, Canada-based cannabis company. She owned 100% of the company at the time of the acquisition — and was paid an initial installment of $297.5 million in up-front cash, according to the sale announcement.

In 2021 Whiteman donated $50 million to her Wana Foundation and gave money to Johns Hopkins Univ. to study the medical benefits of cannabis and psychedelic drugs.

 

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