Learn The Secrets of Black Billionaires: Oprah Winfrey (Lesson 1)

As Sofia in The Color Purple, Oprah gave an unforgettable performance. She easily could’ve parlayed her Oscar-nominated work into more acting and had a long and successful career. However, she decided that she still wanted to do news/talk, finding a way to do both at the same time. And obviously be great at both.

When The Oprah Winfrey Show launched in 1986, daytime talk shows were the exclusive domain of white men. No one really expected this Black woman to have a reach beyond Black viewers. Of course Oprah knew who she was and what she wanted her show to be. Yes, she interviewed plenty of celebrities over the years, but the best episodes were always the ones focused on regular people and the issues they were dealing with. Whether they were serious or funny, Oprah was always great at making the audience feel like they were just talking with old friends and not being lectured at by a professor.

While some considered Oprah to be more in the tabloid category than her main competition Phil Donahue, it was actually a very informative hour. Several years into the show, Oprah decided to start tackling issues and subjects everyday people were dealing with. She began to talk about health, relationships, race and breaking news. Even the celebrity interviews took on a new tone as they became more grounded and personal.

As her star and influence rose, so did Oprah’s desire to use her platform for good. After a trip to South Africa, she was inspired to open the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls—a prestigious boarding school encompassing grades 8-12. In addition to the countless college scholarships and charitable donations, Oprah also helped nonprofits through her Angel Network, taking care of administrative costs so all donations actually went to charity. And of course, she inspired her millions of viewers and fans to give back, creating a legacy of philanthropy.

After 25 seasons and over 4,500 episodes, Oprah decided she was ready to move on from her hit talk show. In 2011, The Oprah Winfrey Show aired its finale. There was a big blowout with celebrity appearances and tributes, while a more intimate affair featuring the host thanking her staff followed it. Oprah left the stage when people were still clamoring for her to stay and saddened to see her leave. Everyone wants to leave on their own terms. Oprah did that better than anyone.

After ending her show, Oprah looked to start a new chapter, and she turned to her roots for inspiration. The Oscar-nominee went back to acting, appearing in projects like Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Selma, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and A Wrinkle in Time. She didn’t need to be the star, her mere presence elevated every film to a special level. The Oprah Winfrey Show may have been over, but her stamp of approval still means a lot.

Oprah was working behind the scenes producing her talk show, other TV series and feature films. This experience gave her the idea to partner with Discovery and create OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Network). With a lack of original programming at its launch, the network had problems finding an audience and was considered a flop by industry experts. However, Oprah rode out the early storm and eventually built something special that offers content for Black audiences. If she gave up when everyone told her to, we wouldn’t have Queen Sugar, Greenleaf, The Haves and Have Nots and The Kings of Napa.

After all her travels through the business, Oprah decided to return to her roots as a great interviewer. She produced a series of specials for AppleTV+ including Oprah with Meghan and Harry, The Me You Can’t See and Adele One Night Only. As usual, Oprah asked fascinating questions that took her guests to depths they didn’t know they would be going to and revealed the humanity beneath the famous names.