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Introducing Fortune’s first-ever Most Influential Women Asia ranking

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This year, Fortune’s Asia team is highlighting several women leaders who are showing influence and power beyond the corporate boardroom. 

Here’s who made it onto Fortune’s first-ever “Most Influential Women” ranking: Twelve women from pop culture, policymaking and professional sports, who together show the diverse ways that power gets expressed across the Asia-Pacific.


Blackpink

Hallyu, the Korean wave, is taking over the world—and girl group Blackpink has been at its crest. Lisa, Jennie, Rosé, and Jisoo have broken numerous records since their debut in 2016: the first to sell one million, then two million, album copies in South Korea; the first Korean group to top the Billboard 200 album chart; the highest-grossing concert tour by a female artist. Blackpink, and K-pop and K-culture more broadly, are now a source of South Korean “soft power,” expanding the country’s cultural influence across Asia and beyond. 

Blackpink’s individual artists have launched their own agencies as they try to become stars in their own right: Lisa’s LLOUD, Jennie’s Odd Atelier and Jisoo’s Blissoo. It’s a new venture for K-Pop, normally dominated by big agencies like YG Entertainment (which own Blackpink), Hybe and SM Entertainment. Now, Lisa, Jennie and others are branching to new media like television and fashion.—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune Asia editor

Josephine Teo

Appointed as Singapore’s minister for digital development and information in 2024, Josephine Teo is the driving force behind Smart Nation 2.0, which commits 1 billion Singapore dollars ($780 million) toward AI for the public good. Teo has overseen updates to the country’s pioneering AI governance framework— one of the world’s first national AI strategies—introducing new standards for generative AI and announcing global safety initiatives at the 2025 AI Action Summit in France. She’s prioritized building an AI-fluent workforce, with robust training partnerships placing more than 2,600 professionals in AI, data analytics, and cybersecurity roles. Teo spent time at Singapore’s Economic Development Board and its Agency for Science, Technology, and Research before making her political debut in 2006. In a previous role as minister for manpower, she implemented a 10-year road map to raise retirement and reemployment ages, championed a 30% cumulative wage increase for essential workers, and expanded wage support for Singapore’s most vulnerable citizens.—Ayesha Khanna, CEO of Addo AI

Amal Alhasan—Getty Images for Fortune Media

Yuriko Koike

When Yuriko Koike became governor of Tokyo in 2016, she wasted no time pushing for efficiency. One of her first reforms was eliminating the use of “chops,” or seals, on official documents, an archaic practice that no one had been able to change. People who work for Koike call her a breath of fresh air. I’ve known Koike for over 20 years. She distinguished herself in stints as Japan’s environment and defense minister. One initiative was her “Cool Biz” campaign, encouraging men to ditch neckties, and offices to turn up the thermostat to conserve energy. As Tokyo’s governor, Koike managed the COVID pandemic and the 2020 Olympics: She was on TV every night, explaining what the government was doing. A lot of things in Japan have changed for the better regarding gender diversity. But what hasn’t changed enough is the need for more women in decision-making positions. While 70% of Japanese women work outside the home, half of those work part-time. That’s helped lead to a lack of women in leadership roles in politics and in business. Koike’s career is a powerful counterexample. Her record as a reformer, communicator, and crisis manager helps expand what’s possible for women and strengthens Tokyo’s capacity to lead on the world stage.—Kathy Matsui, General Partner, MPower Partners


Michelle Yeoh

Since winning the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2023 for her groundbreaking role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once”, Michelle Yeoh has become a powerful advocate for representation in the film industry. With a career spanning over four decades, Yeoh has helped pave the way for Asian actors on the global stage. Her journey began in Hong Kong cinema, where she won fame for her roles in action films like “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”. She has since transitioned to Hollywood, earning acclaim for her versatility and depth in diverse roles. Beyond acting, she’s championed causes like gender equality and environmental sustainability, leveraging her social media presence and public speaking engagements to push for change.

Xin Zhilei

Fresh off her standout role in Wong Kar-wai’s “Blossoms Shanghai,” Xin Zhilei cemented her international ascent last month when she won the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival for “The Sun Rises on Us All.” She’s only the third Chinese actor to claim the honor. On Weibo—China’s leading microblogging platform—and Instagram, her recommendations boost books, films, and emerging creators. Her brand partnerships and red-carpet presence shapes style conversations across Asia, while behind the scenes, she’s championing sharper scripts and female-forward casting.

Alexandra “Alex” Eala

Alexandra Eala is a trailblazer for Filipino tennis. She reached her first WTA Tour final in June at just 20. She then added a WTA 125 title, and now owns a junior Grand Slam singles crown. Training in both Manila and the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain, she’s now a regular feature in Grand Slam main draws, and has climbed as high as No. 54 in the global rankings. Her success has lifted tennis’s profile across Southeast Asia, particularly in the Philippines. Federations and schools are now expanding tennis courts, coaching and girls’ programs—evidence that one athlete is all it takes to boost a sport’s profile.

Eileen Feng Gu

Eileen Gu took the world by storm when she made history in 2022, winning three Olympic medals in freestyle skiing at the age of 18. Born in San Francisco to a Chinese mother, Gu’s decision to compete for the Chinese team both bridged cultures and, at the same time, sparked discussions about identity and nationalism. Geopolitical tensions may be making her attempt to straddle that cultural divide a little trickier, yet Gu has remained focused on sport and advocacy, pushing for greater awareness of both mental health and environmental sustainability. Gu is also a sought-after model and brand ambassador, working with both domestic and global brands like Luckin Coffee, JD.com, Estee Lauder, and Tiffany & Co.

Naomi Osaka of Japan leaves the court after her match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the Women’s Singles Second Round match on day6 of 2025 China Open at National Tennis Center on September 27, 2025 in Beijing, China.

Lintao Zhang—Getty Images

Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka shows that national identity can be a fluid thing, particularly in the world of elite professional sports. Osaka, born in Japan in 1997, spent most of her life in the U.S., training to become an elite tennis player. She’s embraced her Japanese origins, representing the Asian country in international sporting competitions and lighting the Olympic torch at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Osaka has used her platform to champion social causes and the importance of mental health. She’s now back on the court after a brief break following the birth of her child. 

She’s also embracing her role as a cultural tastemaker: She’s launched her own talent agency and is investing in endeavors to boost the field of women’s sports. And Osaka is still driving the global cultural conversation: Her customized Labubu dolls—like “Andre Swagassi”—are contributing to the global hype over Pop Mart’s buzzy toys.

Zheng Qinwen

Zheng Qinwen defines Chinese women’s tennis. In 2024, she won the Olympic gold for singles tennis in Paris and reached the final of the Australian Open. By June of this year, she’d climbed to No. 4 in the global rankings—only the second Chinese woman after Li Na to enter the top five. Her influence is seen in pop culture as much as in professional sports: She’s inspired watch parties and encouraged more Chinese tennis players. And she’s proved to be a marketable athlete too, as a Dior global ambassador and a partner of Rolex and Audi.

Additional blurbs written by Nicholas Gordon, Charmaine Ng and Ashleigh Nghiem.



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SpaceX to offer insider shares at record-setting $800 billion valuation

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SpaceX is preparing to sell insider shares in a transaction that would value Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite maker at as much as $800 billion, people familiar with the matter said, reclaiming the title of the world’s most valuable private company. 

The details, discussed by SpaceX’s board of directors on Thursday at its Starbase hub in Texas, could change based on interest from insider sellers and buyers or other factors, said some of the people, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public. SpaceX is also exploring a possible initial public offering as soon as late next year, one of the people said. 

Another person briefed on the matter said that the price under discussion for the sale of some employees and investors’ shares is higher than $400 apiece, which would value SpaceX at between $750 billion and $800 billion. The company wouldn’t raise any funds though this planned sale, though a successful offering at such levels would catapult it past the record of $500 billion valuation achieved by OpenAI in October.

Elon Musk on Saturday denied that SpaceX is raising money at a $800 billion valuation without addressing Bloomberg’s reporting on the planned offering of insiders’ shares. 

“SpaceX has been cash flow positive for many years and does periodic stock buybacks twice a year to provide liquidity for employees and investors,” Musk said in a post on his social media platform X. 

The share sale price under discussion would be a substantial increase from the $212 a share set in July, when the company raised money and sold shares at a valuation of $400 billion. The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times earlier reported the $800 billion valuation target.

News of SpaceX’s valuation sent shares of EchoStar Corp., a satellite TV and wireless company, up as much as 18%. Last month, EchoStar had agreed to sell spectrum licenses to SpaceX for $2.6 billion, adding to an earlier agreement to sell about $17 billion in wireless spectrum to Musk’s company.

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The world’s most prolific rocket launcher, SpaceX dominates the space industry with its Falcon 9 rocket that lifts satellites and people to orbit.

SpaceX is also the industry leader in providing internet services from low-Earth orbit through Starlink, a system of more than 9,000 satellites that is far ahead of competitors including Amazon.com Inc.’s Amazon Leo.

Elite Group

SpaceX is among an elite group of companies that have the ability to raise funds at $100 billion-plus valuations while delaying or denying they have any plan to go public. 

An IPO of the company at an $800 billion value would vault SpaceX into another rarefied group — the 20 largest public companies, a few notches below Musk’s Tesla Inc. 

If SpaceX sold 5% of the company at that valuation, it would have to sell $40 billion of stock — making it the biggest IPO of all time, well above Saudi Aramco’s $29 billion listing in 2019. The firm sold just 1.5% of the company in that offering, a much smaller slice than the majority of publicly traded firms make available.

A listing would also subject SpaceX to the volatility of being a public company, versus private firms whose valuations are closely guarded secrets. Space and defense company IPOs have had a mixed reception in 2025. Karman Holdings Inc.’s stock has nearly tripled since its debut, while Firefly Aerospace Inc. and Voyager Technologies Inc. have plunged by double-digit percentages since their debuts.

SpaceX executives have repeatedly floated the idea of spinning off SpaceX’s Starlink business into a separate, publicly traded company — a concept President Gwynne Shotwell first suggested in 2020. 

However, Musk cast doubt on the prospect publicly over the years and Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen said in 2024 that a Starlink IPO would be something that would take place more likely “in the years to come.”

The Information, citing people familiar with the discussions, separately reported on Friday that SpaceX has told investors and financial institution representatives that it’s aiming for an IPO of the entire company in the second half of next year.

Read More: How to Buy SpaceX: A Guide for the Eager, Pre-IPO

A so-called tender or secondary offering, through which employees and some early shareholders can sell shares, provides investors in closely held companies such as SpaceX a way to generate liquidity.

SpaceX is working to develop its new Starship vehicle, advertised as the most powerful rocket ever developed to loft huge numbers of Starlink satellites as well as carry cargo and people to moon and, eventually, Mars.



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National Park Service drops free admission on MLK Day and Juneteenth while adding Trump’s birthday

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The National Park Service will offer free admission to U.S. residents on President Donald Trump’s birthday next year — which also happens to be Flag Day — but is eliminating the benefit for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth.

The new list of free admission days for Americans is the latest example of the Trump administration downplaying America’s civil rights history while also promoting the president’s image, name and legacy.

Last year, the list of free days included Martin Luther King Jr Day and Juneteenth — which is June 19 — but not June 14, Trump’s birthday.

The new free-admission policy takes effect Jan. 1 and was one of several changes announced by the Park Service late last month, including higher admission fees for international visitors.

The other days of free park admission in 2026 are Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Constitution Day, Veterans Day, President Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday (Oct. 27) and the anniversary of the creation of the Park Service (Aug. 25).

Eliminating Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth, which commemorates the day in 1865 when the last enslaved Americans were emancipated, removes two of the nation’s most prominent civil rights holidays.

Some civil rights leaders voiced opposition to the change after news about it began spreading over the weekend.

“The raw & rank racism here stinks to high heaven,” Harvard Kennedy School professor Cornell William Brooks, a former president of the NAACP, wrote on social media about the new policy.

Kristen Brengel, a spokesperson for the National Parks Conservation Association, said that while presidential administrations have tweaked the free days in the past, the elimination of Martin Luther King Jr. Day is particularly concerning. For one, the day has become a popular day of service for community groups that use the free day to perform volunteer projects at parks.

That will now be much more expensive, said Brengel, whose organization is a nonprofit that advocates for the park system.

“Not only does it recognize an American hero, it’s also a day when people go into parks to clean them up,” Brengel said. “Martin Luther King Jr. deserves a day of recognition … For some reason, Black history has repeatedly been targeted by this administration, and it shouldn’t be.”

Some Democratic lawmakers also weighed in to object to the new policy.

“The President didn’t just add his own birthday to the list, he removed both of these holidays that mark Black Americans’ struggle for civil rights and freedom,” said Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. “Our country deserves better.”

A spokesperson for the National Park Service did not immediately respond to questions on Saturday seeking information about the reasons behind the changes.

Since taking office, Trump has sought to eliminate programs seen as promoting diversity across the federal government, actions that have erased or downplayed America’s history of racism as well as the civil rights victories of Black Americans.

Self-promotion is an old habit of the president’s and one he has continued in his second term. He unsuccessfully put himself forwardfor the Nobel Peace Prize, renamed the U.S. Institute of Peace after himself, sought to put his name on the planned NFL stadium in the nation’s capital and had a new children’s savings program named after him.

Some Republican lawmakers have suggested putting his visage on Mount Rushmore and the $100 bill.



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JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says Europe has a ‘real problem’

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JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon called out slow bureaucracy in Europe in a warning that a “weak” continent poses a major economic risk to the US.

“Europe has a real problem,” Dimon said Saturday at the Reagan National Defense Forum. “They do some wonderful things on their safety nets. But they’ve driven business out, they’ve driven investment out, they’ve driven innovation out. It’s kind of coming back.”

While he praised some European leaders who he said were aware of the issues, he cautioned politics is “really hard.” 

Dimon, leader of the biggest US bank, has long said that the risk of a fragmented Europe is among the major challenges facing the world. In his letter to shareholders released earlier this year, he said that Europe has “some serious issues to fix.”

On Saturday, he praised the creation of the euro and Europe’s push for peace. But he warned that a reduction in military efforts and challenges trying to reach agreement within the European Union are threatening the continent.

“If they fragment, then you can say that America first will not be around anymore,” Dimon said. “It will hurt us more than anybody else because they are a major ally in every single way, including common values, which are really important.”

He said the US should help.

“We need a long-term strategy to help them become strong,” Dimon said. “A weak Europe is bad for us.”

The administration of President Donald Trump issued a new national security strategy that directed US interests toward the Western Hemisphere and protection of the homeland while dismissing Europe as a continent headed toward “civilizational erasure.”

Read More: Trump’s National Security Strategy Veers Inward in Telling Shift

JPMorgan has been ramping up its push to spur more investments in the national defense sector. In October, the bank announced that it would funnel $1.5 trillion into industries that bolster US economic security and resiliency over the next 10 years — as much as $500 billion more than what it would’ve provided anyway. 

Dimon said in the statement that it’s “painfully clear that the United States has allowed itself to become too reliant on unreliable sources of critical minerals, products and manufacturing.”

Investment banker Jay Horine oversees the effort, which Dimon called “100% commercial.” It will focus on four areas: supply chain and advanced manufacturing; defense and aerospace; energy independence and resilience; and frontier and strategic technologies. 

The bank will also invest as much as $10 billion of its own capital to help certain companies expand, innovate or accelerate strategic manufacturing.

Separately on Saturday, Dimon praised Trump for finding ways to roll back bureaucracy in the government.

“There is no question that this administration is trying to bring an axe to some of the bureaucracy that held back America,” Dimon said. “That is a good thing and we can do it and still keep the world safe, for safe food and safe banks and all the stuff like that.”



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