As one of the most talked-about figures, Angela Chao has built a significant fortune. Our team analyzed the latest data to provide a clear picture of their income.

What was Angela Chao's Net Worth?

Among her other business activities, Chao sat on the board of the Bank of China, served as a vice chair of the Council of China's Foreign Trade, and was a director of the state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation. In the United States, she was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations think tank and a founding member of the Asian American Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes various causes in the AAPI community. Launched in 2021 in response to an increasing number of racial attacks targeting AAPI peoples, TAAF focuses on the core initiatives of anti-hate, education, narrative change, and resources and representation. It is affiliated with such other nonprofits as Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California and Stop AAPI Hate.

After working in mergers and acquisitions at the retail brokerage firm Smith Barney, Chao joined her family's shipping company Foremost Group in 1996. Operating globally, the company charters bulk carriers to such major clients as Bunge, Cargill, Dreyfus, and NYK Line. In 2018, Chao succeeded her father as chair and CEO of Foremost Group. As the head of the company, she introduced more environmentally sustainable vessels that cut back on emissions and improved efficiency. Among the vessels were eco-friendly bulk carriers from Japan's Oshima Shipyards and Namura Shipbuilding. Meanwhile, Chao brought Foremost into the North American Marine Environment Protection Association in 2020.

Chao was raised in Harrison in Westchester County, New York. For her higher education, she went to Harvard University, from which she graduated magna cum laude in 1994 with a BA in economics. Chao went on to earn her MBA from Harvard Business School.

(Photo by Adriel Reboh/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

In early 2009, Chao married investment banker Bruce Wasserstein, who was 25 years her senior. Wasserstein passed away about nine months later. Chao went on to marry venture capitalist Jim Breyer in 2012. They had a son named James, whom they raised in Texas. Having moved to the state during the COVID-19 pandemic, the couple purchased a mansion in Downtown Austin and a ranch in Johnson City.

Angela Chao was born on March 4, 1973 in Syosset, New York as the youngest of six daughters of shipping magnates James and Ruth, who co-founded Foremost Group. Both of her parents were born in mainland China and fled to Taiwan during the Chinese Civil War; her father immigrated to the United States in 1958 and her mother came in 1961 with her three eldest daughters. One of Chao's older sisters, Elaine, went on to become the first Asian-American woman to serve in a presidential cabinet when she became the United States secretary of labor underGeorge W. Bushin 2001.

Angela Chao was an American businesswoman who had a net worth of $100 million at the time of her death.Angela Chao was the daughter ofJames Chaoand Ruth Mulan Chu Chao and the sister ofElaine Chao. Through Elaine, SenatorMitch McConnellwas her brother-in-law. She was the Chairman and C.E.O. of Foremost Group, which is an international transportation and shipping company founded by her father. Tragically, Angela died on February 11, 2024, at the age of 50 in a car accident. At the time of her death, Angela was married to billionaire venture capitalistJim Breyer, whose Accel Partners was one of the first investors in Facebook, among many other investments. She was previously, and briefly, married to financierBruce Wasserstein.

Ultimately, Angela Chao's financial journey is a testament to their success.

Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.