Jun 25, 2026 – 5.00amIn the early 1980s, Le Ho arrived as a baby with her family as refugees from Vietnam, amid the fall of the country’s south. They settled in South Australia but would relocate to Sydney when Ho opted to study orthoptics. However, a career managing eye disorders did not inspire Ho, who quickly abandoned it to become a serial entrepreneur, initially setting up a bridal shoe store and later dabbling in selling tea.Her big break, which would turn Ho, now 46, into a multimillionaire, came when she bought a loss-making business called Capital City Waste Services and began driving a garbage truck that collected industrial bins, while wearing heels. “I had to sit right at the edge of the seat just to be able to see!” laughs Ho, who is 1.6 metres tall.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles