Striking gold in America is a dream for many people, but that dream is changing. It’s not only men in suits anymore. Today, the richest Filipino women in America are also rising, building big businesses worth millions and even billions. They are showing a new kind of success in finance, fashion, tech, and aerospace.
From a Nobel laureate fighting for press freedom to a corporate genius who inherited a crisis and turned it into a $900 million triumph, these women represent the highest echelon of Filipino-American achievement.
Leading the list is a quiet giant of the tech world whose net worth could fund an entire city block. Here is the jaw-dropping countdown of the 10 richest Filipino women in the U.S.
Susan Ocampo: The Crown Jewel of Silicon Valley ($2.3 Billion)
The title of the richest Filipino woman in America belongs to Susan Ocampo, whose wealth is estimated at over $2.3 billion as of 2025. Her fortune was not inherited, but meticulously engineered within the competitive landscape of Silicon Valley.
Ocampo, who moved to the U.S. from the Philippines in the 1980s, co-founded the semiconductor company Sirenza Microdevices in 1984. Serving as CFO and Treasurer, she was the financial architect who navigated the firm through R&D, scaling production, and a landmark IPO in 2000. After the company’s acquisition in 2007, Ocampo strategically reinvested her windfall into the tech ecosystem. Her wealth today is driven by her significant equity position in cutting-edge global AI hardware, including MACOM Technology Solutions. Despite her immense fortune, Ocampo remains one of the most private billionaires, symbolizing a legacy built purely on brilliance and boldness.
10 Richest Filipino Women in America.
The women on this list have built empires across diverse sectors, proving that Filipino excellence is a global force:
Josie Natori
A former Wall Street veteran who became one of Merrill Lynch's youngest female Vice Presidents, Josie Natori traded stocks for silk in 1977. She launched The Natori Company, a luxury fashion and lifestyle brand that blends Eastern heritage with Western design. Crucially, Natori built her own manufacturing operations in the Philippines, employing over 500 Filipino artisans and establishing a business that is both a luxury house and a vital cultural bridge.
Lilia Clemente
Lilia Clemente is credited as a market architect who taught the U.S. how to invest in Asia. After launching Clemente Capital in 1976, she established one of the first woman-led investment firms in New York with an explicit focus on Asian markets. Her firm managed billions in assets at its peak, pioneering the cross-border investment vehicles that shaped global finance decades before Asia became a primary investment story.
Olivia Limpe-Aw
As the fifth-generation CEO of the Philippines' oldest distillery, Destilería Limpe-Aw and Company (founded 1852), Olivia Limpe-Aw took the reins of a heritage brand and modernized it for the global stage. Under her leadership, the company expanded its export strategy, introducing Philippine Craft Spirits infused with local flavors like calamansi and cacao to shelves across the U.S. and beyond.
Sheila Lirio-Marcello
With a double degree from Harvard Law and Business, Sheila Lirio-Marcello turned a personal problem—the struggle to find reliable childcare—into a corporate solution. She founded Care.com, the world's largest caregiving marketplace, which went public in 2014 and was later acquired for nearly half a billion dollars. Marcello leveraged her platform not just for profit, but to advocate for policy changes like paid family leave and women's empowerment in tech.
Juan Ling-Martelo
Juan Ling-Martelo is a financial strategist who operates at the highest levels of global commerce. After holding senior finance and CFO roles at giants like Walmart International and Nestle, she became a founding partner at Bay Pine Capital, a Boston-based private equity firm managing multi-billion-dollar assets. She represents a rare breed of Filipino success based on intellectual capital and quiet, market-moving influence.
Josephine Santiago-Bond
Josephine Santiago-Bond achieved the Filipino immigrant dream quite literally: she reached for the stars. As a high-ranking NASA engineer and division chief at the Kennedy Space Center, she manages teams responsible for mission-critical technology. Along with her husband, she has built an estimated $8 million empire, with her influence measured in the magnitude of her contributions to space missions and mentoring Filipino students in STEM.
Loida Nicolas-Lewis
Born in Sorsogon, Loida Nicolas-Lewis became the first Filipina to pass the New York Bar without a U.S. law degree. She made history again when she was thrust into the CEO chair of the $2.2 billion food conglomerate TLC Beatrice International following her husband's death. Defying Wall Street expectations, she successfully ran, restructured, and sold the company in 1999 for a massive profit, building a personal empire valued at around $900 million.
Maria Ressa
A former CNN bureau chief and co-founder of Rappler, Maria Ressa's wealth is measured in global impact and credibility. As a symbol of press freedom in the digital age, she was awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize and was named Time Person of the Year. Her platform is extensive, encompassing lucrative speaking tours, book deals, and a distinguished fellowship at Columbia University, proving that courage can compound into global influence.
Monique Lhuillier
Monique Lhuillier is the designer Hollywood turns to for red carpet events, dressing everyone from Reese Witherspoon to Michelle Obama. She launched her bridal label in 1996 and rapidly expanded it into a full-blown luxury house. Beyond couture, Lhuillier's brand encompasses home decor, fragrances, and ready-to-wear, establishing a full lifestyle brand that whispers luxury instead of shouting it.
This elite list of women showcases a compelling narrative: that the Filipino-American dream is being realized across every frontier, from the semiconductor labs of Silicon Valley to the boardrooms of Wall Street and the runways of Paris.
