Ho Ching

When Ho returned from her surprise six-month sabbatical last October, it was seen as a sign that she was beginning to back away from her role atop Singapore’s state-owned investment firm. Her likely successor Lee Theng Kiat was given charge of investment strategy and all employees--save Ho and the CFO. Ho has tried to pass the reins before—in 2009, to former BHP Billiton CEO Chip Goodyear—only to reclaim them after strategic “differences” emerged. But for now, Ho remains the boss at the Temasek, the influential sovereign wealth fund where she has served as Executive Director since 2002. Under her leadership, the firm’s $180 billion portfolio has broadened beyond Asia—Gilead Sciences and Monsanto are now among its holdings, for example—and posted an annual shareholder return of 6% over the past decade (though it was down 9% in 2015). Ho also made news this year for a number of non-business related reasons: an inadvertent Facebook post involving a middle-finger-wielding monkey, which she later apologized for; an injury sustained in a hoverboard crash, and an $11 dinosaur-print purse she carried on a state visit to the White House. Ho, an engineer by training, is married to Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore’s current prime minister.