Oprah Net Worth

Oprah Winfrey is a well-known talk show host, philanthropist, author, and more. She became a millionaire in 1989 and has built a media empire that many people envy. Given her lucrative career, most people wonder just what Oprah’s net worth is. 

Oprah Winfrey’s Net Worth

Oprah Winfrey’s net worth is $3.5 billion. The media mogul earns an estimated $315 million per year from her various endeavors, such as her television show and royalties from her books. 

Early Life Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey was born Orpah Gail Winfrey. Her name, Orpah, was from the Book of Ruth in the bible. However, people often called her Oprah, and eventually, it stuck. She was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, a rural Mississippi area, to Vernita Lee and Vernon Lee. Her mother was a teenager who worked as a housemaid, and her father was in the Armed Forces. Eventually, her father would work as a councilman, coal miner, and more. 

Oprah was born into a world of poverty, prejudice, and abuse. Having overcome her tough childhood has helped make her one of the most influential people. 

Oprah and her mother lived with their grandmother when she was a baby. As a young child, she wore potato sacks for clothing, making her story literally a rag-to-riches tale. 

At six, Oprah and her mother moved to Milwaukee, where her mother worked as a maid. This is mainly where Oprah Winfrey grew up. When she was 12, Oprah was sent to live with her father, Vernon Winfrey, in Nashville, TN. However, she ran away at the age of 13 in an effort to escape abuse. At 14, she became pregnant, but her premature baby died. 

Other moments during her early life include: 

• She attended Lincoln High School in Milwaulkee, but due to her excelling in certain programs, she earned a transfer to Nicolet High School, a suburban high school
• She got into more trouble and had to go back to living in Nashville
• Oprah won a Miss Black Beauty Tennessee Pageant 
• She began working as a news anchor on a local radio show at 17, making her the youngest black female news anchor

Media Career

Oprah’s media career continued to propel her forwards after she saw success at the local radio station. She was hired for a position in Baltimore as a co-anchor for the news at 22. Such a young anchor getting a competitive position caught the eye of people across the world and promised her more success.

In 1978, her career with talk shows began. She co-hosted the show People Are Talking. Within a year, the ratings for the show were through the roof. She was even starting to beat popular talk show hosts. By the time she was done in Baltimore, Oprah would be earning an impressive $220,000 per year. When adjusted for inflation, that is about half of a million dollars today. This show earned her a $1 million multi-year deal and lasted for four years. 

Oprah continued to catch the eye of people around the world, and she was given her own talk show in 1984. The talk show with the Oprah Winfrey segment began to have ratings that beat other popular talk shows, such as Phil Donahue. Soon, the show was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show, and it lasted for a full hour. 

As time went on, the show continued to grow. It expanded from covering only women’s issues to covering a wealth of topics, including charity and spirituality. 

Then, Oprah began to question her contract. She met an agent named Jeffrey Jacobs, who pointed out that other clients of his owned syndication with their shows, which led to them not working for a fixed dollar amount. Oprah went back to the negotiation table with King World Productions/ABC, the companies behind the show, and the contract. The negotiations were stale with little promise of a future re-negotiated contract. 

By the time they were ready to begin negotiations again, Oprah was already on to her new venture. She and her agent, Jeffrey, created HARPO Productions, a company that would produce The Oprah Winfrey Show and lay the foundation for her media and business empire. They agreed that King World could syndicate the show and broadcast it nationally for a small amount, making them the employees that were being paid a fixed dollar. 

Oprah also managed to: 

• Strike a deal with ABC regarding books, publications, movie publications, and more under her new production company
• Becoming part owner of King World, which helped her make money every time a show aired
• Wind up owning 1% of CBS
• Become part owner of Disney World

All of these moves helped the self-made billionaire become richer than her talk show counterparts, such as Sally Jesse Raphael. Where other talk show hosts were making millions, Oprah Winfrey began making billions. This explains how Oprah Winfrey’s net worth is so high! 

Oprah Winfrey Facts

Oprah Winfrey is one of the richest celebrities on the planet. Here are some other facts about her: 

• She is the richest self-made woman in the United States of America
• She was America’s first black female billionaire
• Oprah is a board member of Weight Watchers
• She signed a deal with Apple to produce shows for them
• Attended Tennessee State University
• Received a Tony Award
• Oprah has been an actress and appeared in The Color Purple in 1985
• She received the John Hersholt Humanitarian Academy Award in 2011
• She’s won 18 Daytime Emmy Awards
• Worked with Prince Harry on his documentary
• Has an influential book club
• Started a school in South Africa
• Oprah won a Golden Globe
• Nominated for Best Supporting Actress
• She’s donated hundreds of millions of dollars to charity
• Oprah covers the administrative costs for her non-profit Oprah’s Angel Network, an Oprah Winfrey charitable foundation, so all monies raised are donated to help various causes
• President Barack Obama awarded Oprah with the Presidential Medal of Freedom
• The Oprah Winfrey Show had its final episode in 2011
• She owns a stake in Weight Watchers
• The Oprah Winfrey Network remains popular
• Created the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy
• Created Oprah Magazine, which is her own magazine

What Does The Future Hold For Oprah?

Today, Oprah continues to earn millions of dollars from royalties on book deals and remains a household name. Every year, she earns millions more than she did last year. The Oprah Winfrey net worth will only continue to increase, and she’ll retain her billionaire status.

Oprah Winfrey FAQs