She started as a cook and chambermaid to J. Seward Johnson, Sr., of the Johnson & Johnson fortune. She became Johnson's mistress, and then his third wife in 1971, inherting the bulk of the Johnson & Johnson fortune upon her husband's death. The children contested the will, even though they already were given money in trusts. The legal battle ended with Barbara getting half a billion dollars, and each of the Johnson children getting an additional $US 30 million. She is on the Forbes 400 World's Richest People list with an estimated wealth of $2.6 billion, making her the 74th richest person on Earth as of 2006. She converted the family estate in Princeton, New Jersey, named Jasna Polana, into a country club and moved to Monte Carlo, Monaco.