‘The Color Purple’: Exactly how high is Oprah Winfrey’s net worth?

Becoming a billionaire is a hard duty, becoming a self-made billionaire as a Black woman is practically unattainable, except for Oprah Winfrey. At this point, her presentation is merely protocol, however, Oprah Winfrey is an American journalist, philanthropist, writer, actress, and T.V. producer. With a tough background in her history, Oprah is now the richest self-made woman in America. 

People are always curious about celebrity net worth. But further than the morbidity of knowing how rich someone is, some net worths are political and worth recognition. According to the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, White workers are 50% more likely to get a good job and not be displaced. Also, salaries are higher for non-college White workers than for Black workers with associate’s degrees. 

But skin color isn’t the only structural struggle that goes for Oprah, she’s also a woman. Let’s not forget the gender wage gap, which not only attends a difference in salary for the same work and education but the jobs that are structurally done by women. This is why it’s important to have Black female figures with big net worths that change the narrative of who runs the world. 

A tough life

In 1999, Oprah became America’s first Black female billionaire, yet, things weren’t always this way. Oprah was born in 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Her mother, Vernita Lee was an unmarried teenager and her father Vernon Winfrey was in the Armed Forces by the time of her birth. Winfrey grew up in Mississippi’s rural poverty and wore dresses of potato sacks to go to school. 

From a young age, Oprah started being molested by her uncle, cousin, and a family friend and gave birth to a premature son at age fourteen, who sadly died not long after. Anyhow, Winfrey was always dedicated and started working at a local grocery store and at age seventeen she won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant. 

Thereafter, WVOL radio hired her to do the news part-time. She worked there during her last years of high school and first of college. She went to college due to a  Scholarship she earned at Tennessee State University, where she started her communication studies. Nevertheless, she left school at age nineteen to pursue her media career.

Achievements & recognitions 

Winfrey later started working as a co-anchor at CBS’s station in Nashville, which was a morning talk show called People Are Talking. In 1981, she moved to Chicago and hosted a show called A.M. Chicago, which eventually became  The Oprah Winfrey Show. In the beginning, the show’s topics were targeted to women’s issues, however, it later expanded to other topics like health, spirituality, charity, and social issues. 

In 1985, Oprah Winfrey appeared in a movie called The Color Purple by Steven Spielberg, yet, since then she’s worked on several movies. From doing voices like Eudora’s in the Princes and the Frog in 2009 to playing strong roles in political movies like Selma by Ava Du Vernay in 2014. But not everything is about movies, in 1996, she started Oprah’s Book Club to discuss books at her show, usually novels. 

Forbes magazine has recognized her through the years, like the Most Powerful Woman of the Year in 2005, and the Most Powerful Celebrity for five years. In 2014, Winfrey entered number 14 of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women. Also, Life Magazine has described her as the most influential woman of her generation. 

In 2013, Winfrey was awarded Medals of Freedom (the highest civil recognition) by the former United States President Barack Obama. She also has honorary degrees from universities like Harvard & Duke, and she obviously has been in the National Women’s Hall of Fame since 1994. 

Net worth 

Oprah Winfrey is currently the richest self-made woman in America, but what is her exact net worth? It’s estimated for her to receive a $300 million salary per year, and to have a $3.5 billion net worth. You might be wondering how she ended up having all that money, and the key is to her diversified media empire. 

Winfrey possesses 90% of Harpo Productions and 1% of CBS, the third biggest T.V. company in the world. She’s also been a member of Weight Watchers since 2015 and signed a deal with Apple in 2019. However, charity has always been an essential part of Oprah’s personality, so she has donated more than $400 million to it. 

But money is all about spending it on things we enjoy. Winfrey has more than $200 million invested in real estate. Starting with her house in Montecito with ocean & mountain views. She also has another house in Lavallette, New Jersey, as well as an apartment in Chicago and an estate on Fisher Island in Florida. Additionally, she has several properties in Maui, Orcas Island, Washington State, and Antigua.  

Oprah is the fourth-richest celebrity on the planet, her net worth has only been beaten by Kanye West, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas. Hopefully, with time, more Black, female, queer Latino names can stand on that list but at the moment, there’s Oprah Winfrey.