FORTUNE's annual ranking of America's leading businesswomen
Lubna Olayan Rank: 35 (2004 rank: 37)
Company: Olayan Financing Based in: Saudi Arabia Title: CEO
In the past year Saudi Arabia's most powerful businesswoman assumed an even higher profile. The 50-year-old Olayan became the first woman to serve on the board of a Saudi public company. She co-chaired the World Economic Forum. And she joined the board of WPP, the global advertising giant. Her day job: overseeing the Middle East investments of the $1 billion Olayan Group, a conglomerate of some 50 companies founded by her father.
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.
