FORTUNE's annual ranking of America's leading businesswomen
Patricia Barbizet Rank: 18 (2004 rank: 16)
Company: Artémis Holding Based in: France Title: CEO
Barbizet has compiled an impressive résumé as the right-hand woman of French conglomerateur François Pinault. She heads Pinault's investment group, Artémis, and is vice chairman of its largest holding, PPR, a $30 billion retail empire anchored by Gucci. But the holding company's 1992 purchase of a doomed California insurer continues to hound her as Artémis faces more lawsuits.
From the November 14, 2005 issue
Highest pay
These women are among the highest paid in corporate America. All of them are employed by companies with over $1 billion in sales that filed proxies by September 1, 2005.
Newcomer Charlene Begley heads up GE's plastics division and is the youngest of this group at age 39. She bumped last year's youngest gun, Citigroup CFO Sallie Krawcheck, now 40. But, on average, the Power 50 are in their late 40s.
