Makki Zanganeh: The Billionaire Biotech Visionary Who Fought Cancer and Won—Twice
In the 2025 edition of Forbes’ annual list of the richest self-made women in America, a new and inspiring name appeared: Makki Zanganeh. With a net worth of $1.5 billion, she claimed the 23rd spot among titans of business, technology, and innovation. But Zanganeh’s inclusion is not just a matter of wealth—it is the result of a life shaped by resilience, risk-taking, and reinvention across continents and disciplines. From her early years in post-revolution Iran to her current role as co-CEO of Summit Therapeutics, Zanganeh’s journey is one of the most extraordinary in the world of biotech and business.
A Childhood Shaped by Revolution and Exile
Makki Zanganeh was born in Tehran in 1969, in a country that was on the cusp of profound political transformation. Her parents were both architects, part of Iran’s vibrant professional middle class before the 1979 Islamic Revolution overturned the nation’s social order. Like many secular and Western-leaning families, the Zanganehs felt increasingly unsafe in the newly established Islamic Republic. A few years after the revolution, the family fled Iran and sought refuge in Europe.
By 1984, 15-year-old Makki had settled with an uncle in Germany. Alone in a foreign land, she began to build a life for herself—first by learning the language, then pursuing education. At a time when her peers were still navigating adolescence, she was already adapting to life in exile, forging her independence and resilience.