Martine Rothblatt, the highest paid woman in the US, opens up about being born a man

The highest paid woman in the United States made $38 million last year, but instead of focusing on the massive fortune she's accumulated, Martine Rothblatt talked to New York Magazine about her journey to becoming a woman.

Rothblatt, 59, was born Martin. After meeting a woman named Bina at a party in 1979, the two ended up marrying and now have four children together.

Rothblatt told New York Magazine she didn't tell Bina about her desire to become a woman until the early 1990s. She remembers Bina telling her when she finally announced her decision: "I love you for your soul, not your skin."

Rothblatt immediately began the long sex change process.

The New York Magazine writer also spoke with Gabriel Rothblatt, one of Rothblatt's four children, who is currently running for Congress in Florida.

Gabriel was only 11 years old when his father discussed the decision to have the operation with him. After asking whether Rothblatt would still be his father, Gabriel told the publication Rothblatt said: "I'll still be your dad. I'm not changing. I'm only changing physically. I'm going to be like a butterfly."

Rothblatt founded and became the CEO of United Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company, in 1996 after the operation was complete. She came up with the idea after her daughter was diagnosed with a typically fatal disease that makes it hard for blood to flow from the heart to the lungs.

Earlier this year, Rothblatt landed herself at No. 10 on The New York Times' Equilar Top 200 Highest Paid CEO Rankings, only 11 of whom are women.

She beat out other powerhouse women including Marissa Mayer of Yahoo and General Motors' CEO Mary Barra.

A writer for RT reported one of the reasons Rothblatt made that $38 million last year is because she sold more than 9,000 shares of her company.

To read more of New York Magazine's extensive coverage of Rothblatt's story, head over to the publication's website.

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