#5 Oprah Gail Winfrey

Age: 56yrs

Birth Place: Kosciusko, Mississippi, USA

Industry: Media and Entertainment

Influence: Empowering People, Female Media Pioneer

Net Worth: $2.7 billion

Why they made the list…

Oprah Winfrey, this is not the first time I have spoken about her and it probably won’t be the last time either;  it seems she’s coming up in quite a few places. The reasons why Oprah is such an influential entrepreneurs is because of the fact that she’s been through so much and yet accomplished so much more. After being the subject of vicious sexual attack at the age of nine; she later became pregnant, losing the child at birth she was only 14 years of age at the time.In 1986 she famously revealed this to her shocked viewers on her live show. Her fame came to fruition in 1983, when her seductive character and genuine love of people gained her the job of her dreams; as a talk-show host.

The following exposure was explosive and she soon became one of the most famous, most well loved, and most professional people in the entertainment industry. However; she did not want to stop there as she felt there was another side to her, a side of which she wanted to pursue, her entrepreneurial side. In 1988 following her instincts she founded the company Harpo Studios, which for those of you not realised is simply Oprah spelt backwards. The business went on in leaps and bounds most likely due to her television career which gave her a massive amount of advertising is each and every day. The company now has over 250 employees and is currently growing every year. She also co-founded oxygen media which helps attract over 50 million viewers. Because of all of the skills she possesses, and her entrepreneurial side she’s managed to create a personal wealth $2.7 billion pretty tidy sum if you ask me.