Oprah Winfrey: Billionaire and Humanitarian

Oprah Winfrey is a US television host who interviews world-famous guests. For millions of her compatriots, she is the voice of America. In 2018, she was their desired candidate for the US presidency. She is regarded as a global icon and role model, an author, a successful media entrepreneur, an investor, a generous philanthropist, and a billionaire. This is the impressive list of titles the now 71-year-old has earned over the years.

A Superwoman?
Oprah Winfrey does not come from a background that provided her with money, influence, or networks. Her parents were minors when Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954, in Kosciusko, Mississippi. She had a very difficult childhood and youth, which she has spoken about publicly. She grew up with her mother and grandmother, experiencing physical and psychological abuse. At the age of 14, she became pregnant, and the child died. Drugs and alcohol threatened to destroy the young woman's life.

Discipline Changes Her Life
It was only when her mother and grandmother sent her to live with her father in Nashville that her life changed. He instilled in her discipline and self-confidence. She picked herself up, became a good student, caught up on her education, and studied communication sciences, acting, and rhetoric at Tennessee State University with the help of a scholarship. She took her first career steps at the age of 19, working as a news anchor, reporter, and co-host at a small radio station and a local television channel.

The station responded, and in 1984, the show »AM Chicago« was renamed »The Oprah Winfrey Show« and after sustained success, simply »Oprah«. The weekly broadcast became a television event, far surpassing all other talk shows in American television—with up to 21 million viewers in 105 countries.
In 2011, »Oprah« came to an end at Winfrey's own request. She began another chapter of her TV career: the show »Oprah’s Next Chapter«.

Her Interviews Are a Passion Project
Oprah Winfrey is someone who has experienced a lot and gives others a voice, especially »ordinary« people who do not live on the sunny side of life. With her famous guests, she elicits human stories behind the glittering facade. In her interviews, she conveys closeness and genuine interest in each individual.
In the foreword to the book »What Happened to You?«, which she co-authored with child psychiatrist Bruce D. Perry, she says that throughout her career, she has met many people who »should be completely broken« but still strive to make the best of their lives. She writes that the only talk show guest she ever became friends with was the young boy Mattie Stepanek, who, despite his terminal illness, found a way to make peace with it and gave people something with his wisdom.

She herself never tries to hide the suffering she has endured. Perhaps that is her secret: she has empathy for people who have also experienced traumatic events in their lives. She is exceptionally dedicated to this cause and achieves extraordinary things: In 1991, she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee advocating for a national database to track child abusers and succeeded. On December 20, 1993, then-President Bill Clinton signed the so-called »Oprah Bill«. This law, officially called the »National Child Protection Act« established a national system for screening criminal backgrounds. This was followed by further social initiatives, for which she has received numerous awards.

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