2. Who is Oprah Winfrey?
• Oprah Gail Winfrey is an American entrepreneur, TV
show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist.
• She's the chairman of Harpo, Inc.
• She is the only African American billionaire with an
estimated net worth of $2.9 billion.
• She's the first black woman to own and run a television
network, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Launched on
January 1, 2011 .
3. Oprah’s Timeline
1954
Born: January 29,
1954
1970
Age 19: Became 1st African woman to anchor the
news in Nashville at WTVF.
1984
Age 30: Became the host of AM Chicago.
1986
Age 32: September 8, 1986
The Oprah Winfrey show was born
1988 Age 34: Estd. Harpo Studios
1993
Age39: Bill Clinton signed the
“Oprah Bill”
1997
Age 43: Oprah’s Angel network was
founded.
2000
Age 46: Started O,
The Oprah Magazine.
2004
Age 50: “O, at home”
her home magazine was
published.
4. Her Beginning
• Born into poverty in rural Mississippi to a
teenage single mother
• Later raised in an inner-city Milwaukee
neighborhood.
• Experienced considerable hardship during her
childhood.
5. Oprah at College
• Oprah began her college at Tennessee State in 1972.
• She won the “Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant.”
• Was offered an on-air job at WVOL, a radio station
serving the African American community in Nashville.
• Auditioned for a television show and “became the first
black person ever to be a news –show anchor on
Nashville television.”
6. Hitting the Big Time
• 1976 (22), she moved to Baltimore she co-hosted her first
talk show “People are Talking”
• In 1984 (30), she was invited to Chicago to host a faltering
half -hour morning program on WLS-TV.
• In less than a year ,she turned AM Chicago into the hottest
show in town, the format was soon expanded to an hour
and in September 1985 it was renamed “The Oprah
Winfrey Show”.
• The Oprah Winfrey Show broadcasted nationally, and
quickly became the number one talk show in national
syndication.
7. The Oprah Winfrey Show
• Was highest-rated TV talk show in history.
• Seen in 110 countries.
• Was internationally syndicated from 1986 to
2011.
• The series finale of The Oprah Winfrey Show
aired on May 25, 2011.
8. Entertainment Entrepreneur
• In 1988, Oprah founded her own production facility,
Harpo Studios.
• Harper Studios employed around 250 full-time people
in television and film production, magazine publishing,
and online media.
• Winfrey is also co-founder of Oxygen Media, which
operates the Oxygen Network.
Oxygen Media
• A cable network for women reaching more than 54
million viewers.
9. Movies
• In 1985 Oprah gave a breakout performance as
"Sofia" in Stephen Spielberg's The Color Purple,
garnering both Golden Globe and Oscar
nominations.
• In 1990, she founded Harpo Films to work on
projects based on contemporary and classic
literature.
• Harpo has a long-term deal with ABC to produce
the "Oprah Winfrey Presents" telefilms.
10. O Magazine
• In 2000, in partnership with Hearst Magazines, Oprah
launched O, The Oprah Magazine, a monthly magazine.
• It became one of today's top women's lifestyle publications.
• It now has a circulation of more than two million monthly
readers .
• Fortune called it "the most successful startup ever in the
industry".
• In 2004, she launched O at Home, a seasonal home design
magazine.
11. Internet Innovator
• With three million users per month generating 45
million page views, Oprah.com is one of the top
women's lifestyle websites.
• It's also the home of Oprah's Book Club, now the
largest book club in the world with more than half a
million members.
• It's also the home of Live Your Best Life, an multimedia
section featuring Oprah's personal life stories, life
lessons, and an interactive workbook.
12. Money!!! Money!!! Money!!!
• Net Worth: $2.9 Billion
• Annual Salary: $300 Million Per Year
• The Oprah Winfrey Show: $315,000,000/year
Winfrey owns:
- A beautiful apartment in Chicago,
- A big house in New Jersey,
- An estate in Florida,
- A ski house in Colorado,
- A house in Douglasville, Georgia, and land on Maui, Hawaii and Antigua.
- Currently lives at “The Promised Land” where she has 14 bathrooms and
10 exquisite fireplaces.
