O My!

After taking a look at the point-counterpoint controversy of an American icon last week, and the scandal-ridden fall out of a former idol the week before, I decided to take a shot at writing about an American who has done more than most to reshape contemporary culture, as we have come to know it. But before moving to lay out the conversation for this week, I require your indulgence to briefly re-visit my last post.

Typically, reactions to stories I share with you are mixed. Each previous week, some respondents weighed in to agree, while others disagreed, challenged the core of my conclusions, or in one instance, suggested that I declined to take a clear and compelling position. Last week was different, however. Each of you, whom made the effort to holla back, whether in writing, by phone, or in person, sided with Dr. William Henry Cosby, Jr.

That is a point worth sharing. I am genuinely interested in your thoughts about contemporary issues. The point at which the issue was placed into finely detailed perspective, for me, occurred when an urbane, witty, avid-reading, close personal friend did not know Michael Eric Dyson, one of the Cos’ chief critics (on the issue of his current book and tour). Game, set match…to Bill!

That brings me to this week’s discussion. First, for the sports fans among you, no this has nothing to do with the legendary Dick Enberg, who popularized the expression, Oh My! Rather this post is intended to provide an abridged blogography of Oprah Winfrey.

While several of my posts have targeted controversies, challenges and dilemmas of a variety of protagonists and/or ill-fated characters, this is a Horatio Alger-quality good news story. O was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, January 29, 1954 (1 month after I was born). Incidentally, Kosciusko is also the home of former civil right’s activist, James Meredith. Mr. Meredith is not deceased, by the way, but prefers to disassociate himself from the civil rights movement. But that’s a story for another time.

In a way today’s story is an anti-story. I awoke this morning to an e-message from a friend sharing an article citing the imminent demise of E. Stanley O’Neal, of Merrill Lynch, from the ranks of Fortune 500 CEO’s. I was momentarily tempted to write about it. It actually seemed particularly noteworthy when paired with news that Richard Parsons is expected to be forced out by Time Warner, any day now.

Those changes portend a seismic shift in this cohort, even though 2 is a relatively small raw number. After all, there are only 7 blacks among Fortune 500 CEO’s. A reduction by two will decrease the segment by a whopping 28.5%. The corresponding change in percentage of black Fortune 500 CEO’s of the total number of Fortune 500 CEO’s slides from a dismal 1.4% to an even more abysmal 1%.

Based upon my review, the 7 include, listed alphabetically:

· Aylwin Lewis, Sears Holdings
· Alfred Liggins, Radio 1
· E. Stanley O’Neal, Merrill Lynch
· Richard Parsons, Time Warner
· Russell Simmons, Rush Communications (Yep, Mr. Def Jam)
· John W. Thompson, Symantec
· Oprah Winfrey, Harpo Productions

In case you are wondering what the bull pen looks like, there are three African-American CEO’s on deck in the second 500, companies ranked 501 to 1000. Clearly, African Americans are not exactly knocking down the door.

But I digress. This piece is all about Ms. Winfrey. Her story is one of unquestioned success. According to Forbes Magazine, there were 946 billionaires in the world in February, 2007, as reported in the March 8, 2007 edition. While 663 of those were wealthier than Oprah Winfrey at the time, when the list is adjusted to comprise only Americans, the number of billionaires drops to 482. By the way of contrast, Italy had the second highest number of billionaires, 3.

Ms. Winfrey, estimated by Forbes to have had holdings worth $1.5 billion, easily makes the Forbes 400, delineating the 400 wealthiest Americans. The current year cut-off was $1.3 billion.

According to Forbes, Winfrey is worth over $2.5 billion, as of September, 2007[1] and has overtaken Ebay CEO Meg Whitman as the richest self-made woman in America[2] In July of this year, Ms. Winfrey was reportedly the highest paid TV entertainer in the US. She is said to have earned $260 million, or more than 5 times what was earned by the person in second place, July 2007 issue of TV Guide. [3] It is fair to say, 2007 was a very good year!

In fact, it has been a very good couple of decades for Oprah, to greatly understate the case. Her acclaim, influence, and wealth all register on a staggering scale. She has been:

· Ranked the richest African American of the 20 century
· Deemed the most philanthropic African American of all time
· The world’s only black billionaire for three straight years
· Assessed by some to be the most influential woman in the world
o “Arguably the World’s most powerful woman, CNN and Time.com[4]
o “Arguably the most influential woman in the world, the American Spectator[5]
o "One of the 100 people who most influenced the 20th Century" and "one of
the most influential people" of 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 by Time. [6]
o In 2003 Winfrey edged out both Superman and Elvis Presley to be named the
greatest pop culture icon of all time by VH1.[7]

O my! Oprah has towered over the American entertainment industry landscape for more than two decades, and shows no sign of relinquishing her lofty status. She has dominated multiple media, including TV, cinema, radio, magazine, and books. Her wealth is legendary, her philanthropic pursuits record-setting, and her influence, immeasurable.

The divine Ms. O is one-of-a-kind. Though parts of her story are played out daily on Syndicated TV, her accomplishments, and accompanying accolades are so numerous, it is worthwhile to pull them together in one place for review, every now and then. Hers’ is an amazing story. There may never be another like O!

That’s my take; what do you think?

Holla back!


Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com, or, Google: thesphinxofcharlotte. A new post is published each Wednesday.

To read and learn more about the life and times of Oprah Winfrey, click on the links below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosciusko%2C_Mississippi

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=health&id=5712396

http://www2.oprah.com/index.jhtml

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/win0bio-1

http://www.oprah.com/about/press/about_press_bio.jhtml

http://education.guardian.co.uk/schoolsworldwide/story/0,,2201561,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=8

http://www2.oprah.com/tows/tows_landing.jhtml

http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Oprah_Winfrey/

http://www.time.com/time/time100/artists/profile/winfrey.html

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1187226,00.html

http://www.forbes.com/2007/03/07/billionaires-worlds-richest_07billionaires_cz_lk_af_0308billie_land.html

http://blogs.payscale.com/content/2007/09/payscale---the-.html

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2007/10/billionaires-up-america-down/