Working Girls. (cover story)

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Author: Miller, MatthewNewcomb, PeterBierbaum, CarolineWilson, TiffanyFitch, StephaneKemezis, AdamArmstrong,

Fidelity. Marlborough, Mass.

43. Married, 2 children

With family, controls Fidelity Investments, America's largest mutual fund company. Assets under management: $1.1 trillion. Firm founded by grandfather 1946. Frugal father, Edward III (see), joined company as an analyst in 1957, took reins of flagship Magellan Fund 4 years later. "Abby" studied art history at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Spent 2 years at Booz Allen Hamilton after graduating in 1984. Interned at Fidelity while pursuing Harvard M.B.A. Returned full-time 1988, tracked industrial equipment stocks, then telecom. Ran her first diversified fund 1993, became president of company's mutual fund division 2001. Avoided taint of corruption during 2003 scandal; kept money managers from market timing, picked up $31 billion in fund assets during first 6 months as competitors Janus Capital, Strong Capital Management, Bank One withered. This May took over Employer Services division; administers payroll, employee stock plans. Father reduced ownership in 1995; Johnson family still FMR's largest shareholder with a 49% stake.

Ingram Industries. Nashville.

70. Widowed, 4 children

Husband, Bronson Ingram, inherited father's oil-and-barge empire in 1963 with brother. Expanded with distribution business: books, computers, videotapes. Started computer wholesale distributor Ingram Micro. Martha became director of public affairs in 1979, chairman of holding company after Bronson's death in 1995. Today, also sits on board of tech product distributor Ingram Micro. Parceled out divisions to children: Ingram Entertainment (nation's largest distributor of DVD hardware and software) to son David; Ingram Book Group (distributor of books, audiotapes to retailers and libraries) to son John; Orrin runs Ingram Marine boat division (4,000 barges, hundreds of towboats along major rivers, intercoastal waterways). Martha also board member of Weyerhaeuser and AmSouth Bancorp; pillar of Nashville society.

Hotels. New York City.

85. Divorced, widowed; 1 child (deceased)

Feisty hotel operator dubbed "Queen of Mean" for legal spats, offensive quotes ("Only the little people pay taxes") recently showing tender side: $5 million donation to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Former Chesterfield cigarette girl graduated to selling co-ops; met Manhattan property baron Harry Helmsley at real estate industry ball. Married in 1972. Inherited husband's portfolio of properties, general partnership interests after his death in 1997, including Park Lane and Carlton hotels. Served 18 months in jail for tax evasion; paid $8 million fine.

• 84 Lumber. Eighty Four, Pa.
• 39. Married, 1 child

Father, Joseph Hardy St., founded 84 Lumber in 1956. "Maggie" learned business at his knee; took over 1992. Ceded do-it-yourself market to Home Depot, Lowe's; focused on professional contractors, now 95% of business. Today nation's largest privately held building materials chain operates more than 500 stores in 40 states. Sales: $3.5 billion. Also runs family-owned Nemacolin Woodlands, lavish resort in Pennsylvania highlands.

Ebay. Atherton, Calif.

49. Married, 2 children

Career manager held posts at Hasbro, Keds, Disney, Procter & Gamble, before landing at Ebay in 1998. Harvard M.B.A. led company through Internet bust, spectacular rebound catering to loyal trading communities. Since taking the reins, stock up 2,000%, but lately bumpy ride. Critics decried increased vendor fees, inadequate handling of bogus bids; stock tanked 30%. Jumped 20% when second-quarter sales topped expectations. Still expanding: gearing up to buy Web-phone outfit Skype for $2.6 billion; bought comparison pricing site Shopping.com. Plans to infuse fledgling China operation, Eachnet, with $100 million this year. Now girding for battle against Asian auction giant Alibaba. "Meg" once rumored to be on shortlist to succeed Michael Eisner at Disney; now board member of DreamWorks Animation.

Carlson Cos. Minneapolis.

66. Married, 3 children

Carlson Cos. Minneapolis.

63. Married, 4 children

Sisters. Father, Curtis, borrowed $55 in 1938 to produce trading stamps for grocery store promotions. Became Gold Bond Stamp Co. Diversified into hotels 1960s (Radisson Hotels & Resorts) and restaurants (T.G.I. Friday's), travel agencies in 1970s. Renamed Carlson Cos. became travel-hospitality-marketing conglomerate: Radisson, Country Inns, Regent International Hotels, Radisson Seven Seas Cruises, Carlson Wagonlit travel agencies. Siblings inherited business after father's death in 1999. Marilyn now the globe-trotting chairman of $8.4 billion (sales) company. Overseeing major push into Asia: deal for 14 new properties in India, expanding T.G.I. Friday's eateries in China, Taiwan. Barbara serves on the Carlson Cos. board of directors, runs family foundation, active with children's charities.

Television. Chicago.

51. Single

Queen of all media wrapping up her second decade ruling the airwaves. Born in rural Mississippi. Moved to Milwaukee, then Tennessee. Became TV newscaster in Nashville and Baltimore; emotional, ad-lib delivery prompted shift to talk format. Joined Chicago TV station; turned third-rated morning show into number 1. Launched The Oprah Winfrey Show nationally in 1986; now aired in 118 countries, draws some 49 million viewers a week in the U.S. Her production company, Harpo ("Oprah" spelled backward), set to release The Oprah Winfrey Show: 20th Anniversary DVD Collection in November. Owns property in Chicago, Hawaii, Santa Barbara. Gives to needy women, children and families via Oprah's Angel Network and her personal charity, the Oprah Winfrey Foundation.

Taylor Energy. New Orleans.

64. Widowed

Abbeville, La. native obtained law degree from Tulane, worked as clerk at Louisiana Supreme Court. Joined husband's Taylor Energy 1979: deepwater oil exploration in Gulf of Mexico federal waters. Took over last year after husband's death. Today Taylor Energy taps into 100 million barrels of proven reserves. Lost drilling platform to Hurricane Ivan in 2004; still assessing damage from Katrina. Recently donated $2 million to the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Va. in memory of her husband.

Banking. San Francisco.

74. Married

Wellesley grad worked as securities analyst, founded Golden West Financial in 1963 with husband, Herbert, and brother, Bernard Osher (see both). Focused on savings accounts, residential home mortgages. Now one of the top savings bank and home-mortgage lenders in the nation. Husband-and-wife team anointed CEOs of the year by Joseph Mansueto's Morningstar. Couple also score well with medical research, environmental causes. Fund research to cure deadly diseases in Africa.

Martha Stewart Living. Bedford, N.Y.

64. Divorced, 1 child

Convicted of obstruction charges, the domestic doyenne served 5 months in a W. Va. prison, concocting microwave-ready recipes and foraging for dandelions. Earned 3 extra weeks on her subsequent house arrest for reportedly scampering off her Bedford, N.Y. estate to weekly yoga class. Finally uncuffed from prison-issued anklet on Sept. 1, ending 3-year battle over an improper stock sale in 2001. Guilt never tasted so good--shares of her Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia more than doubled during her stay to a recent $33 per share. Up next: The Apprentice: Martha Stewart premiered in September, followed by Martha channel on Sirius Satellite Radio. Though barred from executive role at Martha Stewart Living, her name still used to peddle magazines, DVDs, home goods at Kmart.

PHOTO (COLOR): Thanks to the housing boom, there's no standing still for 84 Lumber's MAGGIE MAGERKO.

PHOTO (COLOR): Her prison sentence served, domestic doyenne MARTHA STEWART is happy to be back with old friends.

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Edited by Matthew Miller and Peter Newcomb; Reported by Caroline Bierbaum and Tiffany Wilson; with Stephane Fitch and Adam Kemezis; Additional reporting by David Armstrong; William P. Barrett; Erika Brown; Monte Burke; Kerry A. Dolan; Jonathan Fahey; Christopher Helman; Peter Lattman; Rada Leenders; Victoria Murphy; Charlotte Pinkerton and David Serchuk