The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the £1.3 trillion hedge fund women

In fact, these are some of the most powerful and influential individuals to have gathered at St James's Palace. All leading figures in finance, they help to control assets totalling £1.3 trillion.

The 14 women posed with the royal couple at a gala evening this month which raised £675,000 for charity. Now their identities and the extraordinary wealth for which they are responsible can be revealed.

They range from the senior executive at one of the world's biggest banks who competes in triathlons in her spare time, to the investment consultant who admits to owning 110 pairs of shoes.

The event marked a rare foray into the public arena for the women. Several are heads of hedge funds, the secretive investment vehicles which put money into complex financial schemes and can profit in a downturn by effectively betting on markets falling.

Others are executives at banks or asset management companies. Among them are chief executives, presidents, directors, and consultants. Members cover a range of nationalities, reflecting the cosmopolitan nature of the industry.

All are senior figures in 100 Women in Hedge Funds, a philanthropic organisation. The duke became a patron last year, and 100WHF will raise money for charities he is associated with; this month's gala supported the Child Bereavement Charity.

The link-up suggests that the Duke and Duchess are following the lead of the Prince of Wales in ensuring that their charitable initiatives win support from wealthy and influential figures.

100WHF, which has branches around the world, has raised millions of pounds for causes including women's health, education and mentoring.

Anne Popkin, chair of the organisation's global board, flew over from San Francisco for the London event. She said: "It is wonderful to raise such an amount. The reason we work so well with His Royal Highness is our aims and his aims are the same."

In a letter to 100WHF, the Duke wrote: "It is a privilege for me to be Patron of this exciting endeavour."

Left-to-right in photograph:

1) Anne Popkin, 46: President of San Francisco-based Symphony Asset Management, founded in 1994, which manages assets of £5.65 billion. Lives in San Francisco and chairs 100WHF's global board. Previously a managing director at Lehman Brothers. Studied maths and economics at Harvard, has an MBA from Northwestern University and studied for a diploma in art history at Oxford University in 1991.

2) Amanda Pullinger. 45: Chief executive of Pullinger Management in New York. Executive director of 100WHF. Studied modern history at Oxford University where she was a contemporary of David Cameron. Originally from Solihull, has lived in New York for 24 years. Fan of Downton Abbey.

3) Effie Datson, 41: Head of foreign exchange and global macro prime brokerage for Deutsche Bank, which has managed assets of £480 billion. Previously worked at IKOS and Goldman Sachs. London Board Chair of 100WHF. Has a degree in social sciences and MBA, both from Harvard. Lives with husband Edwin, a venture capitalist, in a £1 million flat in Battersea, southwest London. Competes in triathlons.

4) Claire Smith, 48: Research analyst and partner with Albourne Partners, independent global advisers whose 200 clients worldwide have an estimated £145 billion invested in hedge funds. Works from home in Geneva.

5) Kathryn Graham, 39: Director of BT Pension Scheme Management in London, BT's pensions advisory arm, the largest scheme in the UK at £34 billion. Has an MA in economics and mathematics from Edinburgh University. Trustee of hedge fund standards board in London.

6) Roxanne Mosley Sargent, 43: Previously co-head of sales and marketing at Armajaro Asset Management, formerly head of hedge fund capital group for Europe at Deutsche Bank. MBA from Harvard. Married with young children, lives in Notting Hill, west London.

7) Kristen Eshak Weldon, 33: Managing director of Blackstone Group International Partners which has £99 billion of managed assets. 100WHF London board member. Previously worked at JP Morgan. Studied at Georgetown University, Washington DC. Originally from Houston, Texas and now living in London. Likes designer fashion labels including Diane von Furstenberg, Max Mara and Donna Karan.

8) Natasha Sai, 35, a managing director with the banking giant Goldman Sachs, America's 5th largest bank by revenue, which has £515 billion of managed assets. Lives in Hammersmith, west London. Featured in a 2001 Sky One series called The Real Sex in the City, about the lives of single girls in New York.

9) Sonia Gardner, 49: Moroccan-born president and co-founder, Avenue Capital Group, a global investment firm with £12.5 billion of managed assets. Made a donation to Hillary Clinton's New York Senate re-election campaign. Mrs Clinton's daughter Chelsea joined Ms Gardner's Avenue Capital Group in 2006.

10) Stephanie Breslow: partner and co-head of the investment management group at Schulte Roth & Zabel, a New York law firm with an office in London. Lives in New York with husband and two stepchildren. Graduate of Columbia University School of Law. Is on the advisory board of the Columbia Law School's Gender and Sexuality Centre.

11) Mindy Posoff, 51: Founder, Traversent Capital Partners, a consultancy for hedge funds and asset managers. Also managing director of Golden Seeds, dedicated to investing in young companies founded or led by women. Former director of Credit Suisse. Likes Queen Latifah, the American rapper.

12) Carol Kim: managing director, the Blackstone Group, based in Hong Kong. Previously based in New York as a Vice President in the Absolute Return Strategies Group at Lehman Brothers. 100WHF co-founder and board director. Has a BA in Urban and Economic Studies from the University of Toronto.

13) Mimi Drake, 42: President of Permit Capital Advisors, an independent investment advisory firm based in Philadelphia. Previously in magazine publishing. Has an MBA in finance from the University of Pennsylvania. Formerly Mimi Keller, she married Thomas Drake, a doctor, in 1996.

14) Kristin Fox, 47: Former journalist, founder and principal of FoxInspires consultancy. Chicago-based. A former news director of HedgeWorld. Owns 110 pairs of shoes and admits to a penchant for the creations of Mephisto, Icon and Stuart Weitzman.