There has been a surge in the number of female billionaires in recent years but in the technology sector the net worth of women still lags far behind their male peers based on a Wealth-X list released in April.

Of the five wealthiest women in the tech world, Hewlett-Packard chief executive Meg Whitman claimed top spot. Ranked second is Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, whose net worth totals $1.22 billion, while Alibaba co-founder Lucy Peng (also known as Peng Lei) is third with a personal fortune of $1.2 billion.

Let's take a look at the world's top 5 richest women in technology:

No 5 Marissa Mayer

Estimated net worth: $410 million

Country: United States of America

The youngest female tech executive on the list is 39-year-old Mayer, CEO of Yahoo Inc.

Yahoo President and CEO Marissa Mayer speaks during the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Jan 7, 2014. [Photo / IC]