Ruth Parasol

BET Costa Rica

Ruth Parasol (born 1967) is a self-made millionaire, and co-founder of PartyGaming with her husband Russ DeLeon, parent company of onlinke poker site PartyPoker.com which floated on the London Stock Exchanged in June 2005. In 2006, Parasol was ranked #197 on Forbes' 400 Richest Americans.[1] Subsequently in 2007, she dropped off the Forbes' 400 Richest Americans rankings, due to the 75% drop in value of PartyGaming shares.[2] Parasol and DeLeon were ranked #97 on the Sunday Times Rich List 2008.[3]

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Personal life

Born in 1967 in San Francisco, California, Ruth is the eldest daughter of Jewish Polish born Holocaust survivor Richard Parasol and Swedish mother Guna Parasol. She grew up in Mill Valley, California, and graduated from Marin Academy High School in 1984. She received a BA in Business from University of San Francisco in 1988.

After graduating from Western State University College of Law in 1992 she embarked on a career in business with her entrepreneurial father, initially in his real estate management business, and his audiotex business, which provided horoscope, tarot, trivia, chat and adult services over the telephone.

Ruth Parasol and Russ DeLeon were married in California in 2003. Since January 2004, they have lived in Gibraltar where they now have three children.[4]

Involvement in the adult entertainment industry

Between 1994 and 1996, Parasol joined with Seth Warshavsky to start several companies developing adult phone sex services. In 1995, they formed Internet Entertainment Group Ltd., and launched an adult rated “peep show” website, Clublove.com. In 1996, Parasol sold her interest in these companies, though she continued to attend industry trade show gatherings until 2004 to promote her online casino to affiliates and webmasters.

After Parasol left the business, Warshavsky’s companies were sued by North Carolina and Nevada authorities for alleged improper billing and collection practices that included threatening to seize a person's property. Warshavsky was a protege of Seattle phone sex entrepreneur Ian Eisenberg. Eisenberg mailed "rebate" checks for $3.50 to millions of households. The fine print on the checks stated that by cashing the check, the recipient agreed to pay up to $29.95 for Internet service. Subsequently, the FTC filed charges, and Eisenberg and company were ordered to pay $17 million in restitution.[5]

Involvement in the gaming industry

In 1997, Parasol launched Starluck Casino Online in the Caribbean and in 1998 met and partnered with software engineer, Anurag Dikshit. At the time, she made Dikshit a partner in her online casino business, and in turn Anurag made Parasol a partner in his IT services business in India. Parasol's expertise is electronic payment processing, website content management, online gaming regulations and international taxation.

In 2001, Parasol and Dikshit launched PartyPoker.com. PartyGaming Plc grew dramatically to over $500 million in annual profits by 2005. In June 2005, PartyGaming Plc floated on the London Stock Exchange at a value of £4.64 billion ($8.46 billion) and in September was admitted to the FTSE 100 list of companies.

In October 2006, PartyGaming pulled out of the US market after the passage of anti-gambling legislation by the U.S. Congress in the SAFE Port Act, and the company’s share price dropped 60% as a result. The company then exited the FTSE 100. Parasol remained a consultant to PartyGaming Plc until December 2006. She remains a major shareholder.

Notes

  1. ^ Forbes: The 400 Richest Americans. Retrieved September 22, 2006.
  2. ^ Forbes: Dropouts:The 400 Richest Americans. Retrieved October 8, 2007.
  3. ^ The Sunday Times Rich List
  4. ^ Taipei Times: US Frets over Online Gambling
  5. ^ Newsmax: Woman Becomes Sex Billionaire

See also

External links