But law enforcement agencies have shown no inclination to attack. Some legal experts say Parasol risks arrest if she returns to the United States, and her company warned in paperwork before its initial public offering in the summer that a concerted U.S. At the exclusive Marin Academy, Parasol was known as “Ruthie Ruthless” and posed for her senior portrait in a fur coat with the caption “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.” That Parasol would become one of the wealthiest women in the world with a net worth of $1.8 billion - ranking alongside Cuban and Wynn, among others, at 164th on the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans - shocks few who knew in her high school. Associates describe her as perennially happy and even bubbly, a licensed pilot with an instinct for getting in early and profiting from what one of her legal advisors calls “gray-market opportunities” before the rules of the game change. 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.īefore founding PartyPoker, Parasol spent years bankrolling or advising some con men and shysters, but she has never been accused of a crime or questioned by law enforcement. In industries full of sharpelbowed men and sometimes shady characters, Parasol stands out.