From the Editor

Last Updated Jun 3, 2026, 6:30am EDT

  • Oprah Winfrey transitioned her hit talk show, which ran for 25 years until 2011, into a media and business empire.
  • Reinvested, the profits from her show, plus profits from films like The Color Purple, Beloved and Selma (which her Harpo Productions coproduced) add up to more than an estimated $2.8 billion.
  • In 2011, Winfrey launched cable channel OWN. She sold most of her stake in the network to owner Warner Bros. Discovery in 2020 in exchange for shares in the company.
  • Her sprawling real estate portfolio includes homes in California and over a dozen properties including 2,100 acres of land in Hawaii.
Wealth History
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Forbes Lists

list appearances

65

Personal Stats

Age
72
Source of Wealth
TV shows, Self Made
Self-Made Score
10
Philanthropy Score
2
Residence
Montecito, California
Citizenship
United States
Marital Status
In Relationship
Education
Bachelor of Arts/Science, Tennessee State University
Did you know
Winfrey overcame a tough childhood, born to a teen mother in rural Mississippi and raised without indoor plumbing.
Winfrey has focused her philanthropy on education, including supporting a girls' school in South Africa.
In Their Own Words

What I learned in all of those thousands of interviews is that there is a common denominator in our human experience. Everybody wants to know did you hear me and did what I say matter?

Oprah Winfrey
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