We have been focusing quite a bit on the all-time money leaders in the world of poker of late. Why? This is the way that we in the poker world keep score. You can also go by the number of World Series of Poker bracelets won, or World Poker Tour or European Poker Tour final tables, but that is not quite as indicative of long-term success (unless you’re Phil Hellmuth or Phil Ivey!). Thus, over the past couple of months, we have been looking at the all-time money leaders in every state in the U.S. and the provinces of Canada.
There was one group left out of the equation…women. Approximately four percent of the field at the 2025 WSOP Main Event was female and, for the first time in thirty years, a woman reached the final table of the tournament, Leo Margets. In Part One of this series, we told you that Margets’ efforts at the 2025 WSOP brought her just short of the Top Ten, and we counted down the lower echelons of that standing. Now, we’re going to go with the Top Five, and the potential for history to be made – and it could be relatively soon!
Notable Names at the Tail of the Top Five
The bottom edge of the Top Five has two Women in Poker Hall of Famers and someone who will join them at some point. In the #5 slot is one of those Hall members, Maria Ho, who has a highly decorated career in the world of poker. Not only has she excelled on the felt, but she has also shattered the glass ceiling that was poker commentary as the first woman to take on play-by-play/color duties for tournament poker on television and streaming. Ho also has the honor of kicking off the only five ladies who have more than five million dollars in career earnings, coming into the #5 slot with her $5,543,363 in lifetime winnings.
Here is the one Top Five woman not in the WiPHoF that probably should already be enshrined. Liv Boeree pushed herself into the Top Five of all-time money leaders amongst women by ‘only’ finishing in fourth place in last year’s inaugural WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas. That finish gave another $2.5 million to Boeree’s career total of $6,699,290, but it is Boeree’s work outside of poker that arguably is more notable; she has been a tireless advocate for effective altruism, or prioritizing philanthropic causes for the greatest good. Oh, and add in that Boeree also holds a doctorate…next time you see her around a poker room, call her “Doctor Boeree!”
In third place is one of the grande dames of the game, who is continuing to ply her trade. Kathy Liebert had nine cashes at the 2025 WSOP (and a couple in other events around Las Vegas) to firmly pull into third on the all-time money leaders list. Liebert, who finished in the money in the 2025 WSOP Main Event (662nd place, good for $27,500), is decently ahead of Boeree and makes it challenging for the Brit to bypass her; with $7,126,041, Liebert has slightly more than $400K separating her from Doctor Boeree.
Is History in the Making?
We are down to the final two players on our list of the all-time money leaders amongst women, and it is a situation that could be changing shortly.
Two women have earned more than $10 million from poker tournaments, and one of them is Canada’s Kristen Foxen. Yes, she may be married to Alex and moved on to Las Vegas, but Foxen is Canadian by birth. She has also been one of the strongest players, male or female, over the last decade, with several PokerGO Tour championships on her resume. The multiple-time Women’s Poker Player of the Year has earned $10,896,662 over her twenty-year career (that’s right…Kristen has been in poker for almost two decades) and has her sights firmly set on the top of the mountain.
Leading the way for women in the world of poker is someone who has semi-retired from playing, but still occasionally makes an appearance on the green baize. Vanessa Selbst, another Women in Poker Hall of Famer, has left a legacy of excellence on the game, even if she never picks up another chip. She was among those who cashed at the $10,000 Six-Handed Eight Game Mixed event at this year’s WSOP (Event #82), earning a tidy $22,711 for her efforts. Selbst is going to have her work cut out if she wants to keep the top slot on the women’s list, however, as her $11,928,958 in career earnings is under siege from Foxen.
So, here is your review – the all-time money leaders amongst women as of August 2025:
1. Vanessa Selbst (Brooklyn, NY), $11,928,958
2. Kristen Foxen (Las Vegas, NV), $10,896,662
3. Kathy Liebert (Las Vegas, NV), $7,126,041
4. Liv Boeree (London, England), $6,699,290
5. Maria Ho (Las Vegas, NV), $5,543,363
6. Sosia Jiang (Auckland, New Zealand), $4,737,237
7. Annie Duke (Portland, OR), $4,270,548
8. Loni Hui (Hollywood, FL), $4,070,973
9. Annette Obrestad (Sandnes, Norway), $3,942,233
10. Maria Lampropulos (London, England), $3,885,265*
* – Literally as we were doing this list, there was a change in the Top Ten. Cherish Andrews finished second in the $25,000 High Roller event at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open in Hollywood, FL, on August 11, taking down a $318,427 score. That pushed her up to $3,905,066, passing Lampropulos to move into tenth place and only about $37K from passing Obrestad on the all-time money leaders list.