Media proprietor, Actor, Presenter, Businessperson, Television producer, Film Producer, Journalist,
Oprah Winfrey Net Worth
Oprah Winfrey is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, broadcast from Chicago, which was the highest-rated television program of its kind in history and ran in national syndication for 25 years from 1986 to 2011. Dubbed the “Queen of All Media”, she was the richest African American of the 20th century and North America’s first black multi-billionaire, and she has been ranked the greatest black philanthropist in American history. By 2007, she was sometimes ranked as the most influential woman in the world
In August 1978 she began co-hosting a talk show called People Are Talking. By 1980, she was beating the nationally-syndicated Phil Donahue in the local Baltimore market. By the end of her Baltimore run, she was earning $220,000 per year, which is the same as around $560,000 today after adjusting for inflation.
Recognizing her potential, in 1984 ABC gave Oprah her very own 30-minute morning talk show in Chicago to be produced by a company called King World Productions. King World was also the production studio behind Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. The job came with a four-year, $1 million contract. After adjusting for inflation, $250k per year at that time is the same as around $600k today.
Within a few months of AM Chicago’s first air date on January 2, 1984, Oprah brought the ratings from dead last to the highest-rated talk show in Chicago, displacing Phil Donahue. On September 8, 1986, the show was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show, broadcast nationally, syndicated, and expanded to a full hour. In the beginning, the show only targeted women’s issues but was later expanded to cover such topics as health, spirituality, social issues, and charity. She later left the show and launched her own production company, Harpo Productions which set her on the path of becoming a billionaire through various deals.
Winfrey has won many accolades throughout her career which includes 18 Daytime Emmy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Chairman’s Award, 2 Primetime Emmy Awards, including the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, a Tony Award, a Peabody Award and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, awarded by the Academy Awards and two additional Academy Award nominations.
