Ruth Parasol

Parasol was born in 1967 in San Francisco, California. She is the eldest daughter of Guna Parasol, who is Swedish, and Richard Parasol, a Jewish-Polish Holocaust survivor who served in the Israel Defense Forces. Richard eventually emigrated to study mechanical engineering at California Polytechnic State University. Richard worked as an engineer for several years and then went on to become a real estate developer.

Parasol grew up in Mill Valley, California, graduated from Marin Academy in 1984, and received a B.A. in Business from the University of San Francisco in 1988.

After earning her juris doctor from Western State College of Law at Argosy University in 1992, Parasol worked for her father's real estate management business. Parasol also amassed a small fortune in the business of online pornography and the operation of phone sex lines.

In 2003, Parasol married Russ DeLeon. They moved with their children to Gibraltar in 2004. They separated in 2010, and were decreed divorced in early 2014. Parasol continues to reside primarily in Gibraltar and to maintain homes in Israel, London, and Spain.

Parasol is the Principal Benefactress and Trustee Director, a Gibraltar-based independent philanthropic organization that was founded 2004. As of 2020, the Trust has given over GBP £40 million in donations. The Parasol Trust's grant making focuses on non-profit organizations in the areas of health, the environment and cultural heritage. The Parasol Trust works with organizations such as The Red Cross, The University of Cambridge, Tel Aviv University, Technion University, The Victoria & Albert Museum, The Prince’s Trust, the British Council and MacMillan Cancer Support. The trust also has a special interest in using new technologies and Internet solutions to aid charitable programs.