Cher Wang — HTC ($8.8 Billion Peak)

Wang co-founded HTC in 1997, and it became the most valuable smartphone company on Earth for a brief, glorious moment in 2011 — peaking at $33.8 billion market cap. HTC made the first Android phone ever (the T-Mobile G1 in 2008) and the first commercial 4G phone. Wang's personal fortune hit $8.8 billion. Then Samsung and Apple crushed them, and HTC's market cap fell 95%. But Wang pivoted to VR (HTC Vive) and kept fighting. She was the richest woman in Taiwan and one of the richest self-made women in Asia. The smartphone wars were brutal — but she was there first.