Oprah Winfrey - The Story of an Entrepreneur

Oprah – The Entreprenuer Contd...

It was the same story with Oprah's investment decisions. Geraldine Laybourne, the co-founder of Oxygen, won Oprah's trust by telling her that she was planning a cable network aimed at providing intent and service to women. The idea appealed to Oprah (in fact she had something similar in her mind) and on an impulse, she invested $20 million in the project and also transferred certain rights to 'The Oprah Winfrey Show library. In return, she received a 25% stake in Oxygen Media.⁹

Oprah – Serving The People

Since Oprah had been a victim of child abuse, she constantly raised the issue in her show and made constant efforts to protect children from such abuse. In 1991, she demanded that the government pass a new law (The National Child Protection Act) against child abuse. Oprah even testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee of the US to help them establish a database of convicted child abusers in the US. In December 1993, Oprah's efforts were rewarded when the 'Oprah Bill' (The National Child Protection Act) was made a law. On principle, Oprah donated at least 10% of her annual earnings to charity during her adult life. Reportedly, most of these donations were made anonymously. However, in the 1990s, Oprah made such donations openly.

She reportedly donated millions of dollars to institutes of higher education (Spelman College, Morehouse College and Tennessee State University) and established scholarships, which helped hundreds of students. In September 1997, Oprah launched 'Oprah's Angel Network' to encourage people to extend their help to those in need. Oprah asked her audience to help the 'less fortunate' by donating their spare change to the Angel Network.

By 2000, Angel Network received more than $3.5 million in spare change, which was used to give scholarships to poor students and fund humanity homes. In April 2000, Angel Network announced the 'Use Your Life Award' for people who 'made others lives better.' The award which, carried a cash prize of $100,000, was given every Monday on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show.'

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9] In March 2002, it was reported that Oprah regretted her decision to impart certain rights to 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' library to Oxygen Media. She felt that by doing so, she had traded her soul. To undo this mistake, Oprah acquired her rights back and in return she accepted to do a special program on Oxygen Media, "Oprah After the Show'.

Case Details

Case Code : LDEN006
Themes: Corporate Social Responsibility/Woman Entrepreneurs
Case Length : 14 Pages
Period : 1957-2000
Organization : Infosys
Pub Date : 2002
Teaching Note : Not Available
Countries : Japan
Industry : Media and Entertainment

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