Oprah Winfrey has become the first black woman to be featured on the Bloomberg 500 richest people list. She claimed the 494th spot, just behind Mark Cuban and Ross Perot, with a fortune of $4 billion. The entertainer-turned-entrepreneur has become an inspiration for many women across the globe.
The 64-year-old star also operates Oprah Winfrey Network—a women's lifestyle channel—in collaboration with Discovery Communications. According to Bloomberg 500, "A bulk of her fortune comes from her ownership of The Oprah Winfrey Show, a daytime talk show that grossed almost $4.5 billion during its 25-year run."
The media mogul has also signed a multiyear deal with Apple to produce original contents for their network. Apple, which is planning ti spend $1 billion, is keen to take on other streaming services like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu in the race.
Oprah is the face of black women in the United States. At the recently held Golden Globes, her speech on abuses suffered by women of colour for generations was trending at the top spot in almost all the social media sites. She often uses international platforms to create awareness on inequality and the broken systems. Recently, there was a widespread speculation that the media tycoon might run for the upcoming presidential elections against Trump. And a recent survey even suggested that 48 percent of US voters would choose Winfrey, while only 38 percent might vote for Trump.
The list was topped by Jeff Bezos, founder and largest shareholder of Amazon, the world's biggest online retailer with an asset of $144 billion. Microsoft founder Bill Gates claimed the second spot followed by Warren Buffet, Mark Zuckerberg and Bernard Arnault. Mukesh Ambani (at number 17) is richest Indian on the list with a fortune of $40.5 billion.
