#164 Ruth Parasol
Net Worth: $1.8 billion
Source: Gambling /Leisure, online gaming
Self made
Age: 38
Marital Status: Married, 2 children
Hometown: Gibraltar
Education: University of San Francisco, Bachelor of Arts / Science
Western State University College of Law, Doctor of Jurisprudence
With husband J. Russell DeLeon, owns 32% of Internet poker site PartyGaming (each holds a 16% stake). Lawyer Parasol studied at U. of San Francisco, served as adviser for father's phone-sex-chat business. Moved to Internet porn sites; litigation threats prompted switch to online gambling. Launched Starluck Casino 1997. With partners developed online casino software; enabled gamblers around the world to play one another in poker. Problem: 80% of customers live in America, where online gambling is illegal. Solution: don't operate on U.S. soil; servers, employees based in Gibraltar, India, England, the Caribbean. Took public on London exchange in June; stock down 48% since Sept. 6 announcement of slower revenue growth and increased competition. But sales robust: up 1,900% in last 2 years. No longer active in management; still serves as a consultant.
Through phone sex, then Web porn and most recently online poker, the 38-year-old lawyer has leveraged a succession of new technologies to become a self-made billionaire whose net worth rivals those of Internet entrepreneur Mark Cuban and Las Vegas mogul Steve Wynn.
Like Cuban, Parasol was quick to recognize the Internet's power to transform daily life. And like Wynn, she understood the financial upside of gambling — even though the Justice Department says most of her customers are breaking the law when they ante up at Parasol's PartyPoker.com.
But unlike Cuban and Wynn, who have grown famous, few outside the porn or gambling industries have heard of Parasol, a mother of two from Marin County who shuns publicity and lives in the Mediterranean tax haven of Gibraltar.
In industries full of sharpelbowed men and sometimes shady characters, Parasol stands out. People who know her describe Parasol as "drop-dead gorgeous," a tough negotiator and a skillful investor who uses her legal training to navigate at the fringes of the law.
Net Worth: $1.8 billion
Source: Gambling /Leisure, online gaming
Self made
Age: 38
Marital Status: Married, 2 children
Hometown: Gibraltar
Education: University of San Francisco, Bachelor of Arts / Science
Western State University College of Law, Doctor of Jurisprudence
With husband J. Russell DeLeon, owns 32% of Internet poker site PartyGaming (each holds a 16% stake). Lawyer Parasol studied at U. of San Francisco, served as adviser for father's phone-sex-chat business. Moved to Internet porn sites; litigation threats prompted switch to online gambling. Launched Starluck Casino 1997. With partners developed online casino software; enabled gamblers around the world to play one another in poker. Problem: 80% of customers live in America, where online gambling is illegal. Solution: don't operate on U.S. soil; servers, employees based in Gibraltar, India, England, the Caribbean. Took public on London exchange in June; stock down 48% since Sept. 6 announcement of slower revenue growth and increased competition. But sales robust: up 1,900% in last 2 years. No longer active in management; still serves as a consultant.
Through phone sex, then Web porn and most recently online poker, the 38-year-old lawyer has leveraged a succession of new technologies to become a self-made billionaire whose net worth rivals those of Internet entrepreneur Mark Cuban and Las Vegas mogul Steve Wynn.
Like Cuban, Parasol was quick to recognize the Internet's power to transform daily life. And like Wynn, she understood the financial upside of gambling — even though the Justice Department says most of her customers are breaking the law when they ante up at Parasol's PartyPoker.com.
But unlike Cuban and Wynn, who have grown famous, few outside the porn or gambling industries have heard of Parasol, a mother of two from Marin County who shuns publicity and lives in the Mediterranean tax haven of Gibraltar.
In industries full of sharpelbowed men and sometimes shady characters, Parasol stands out. People who know her describe Parasol as "drop-dead gorgeous," a tough negotiator and a skillful investor who uses her legal training to navigate at the fringes of the law.
