OPRAH NAMED RICHEST BLACK PERSON OF THE 20th CENTRURY

We all know that Ms. Winfrey is a respected icon of business, television and philanthropy. But this week, American magazine Black Enterprise made that official by naming her the richest and most philanthropic black person of the 20th century.

The June issue of Black Enterprise also described her as the world’s most influential black entrepreneur. Although Patrice Motsepe is wealthier than Oprah, I would say that’s a fair summation since her celebrity allows her access to literally billions of people. Plus she’s way more philanthropic than our mining Prince.

Black Enterprise had the following to say in a press release:
“She is a legend, an icon—but mostly, a mentor. Her unprecedented success in American business serves as the undisputed blueprint for many minority entrepreneurs. Her leadership has broken down barriers; her business instinct the stuff of legend; and her innovation unprecedented. She has spent her entire career beating the odds—and has inspired millions of business-minded minorities in the process.” Couldn’t have said it better myself!

In the cover feature, Oprah talks about the winning formula that has taken Harpo from a five-person production company to a 430-employee multimedia conglomerate that grossed $345 million last year.

She also explains that, “Treating people with respect is the most important thing to me. It’s not just talk. I don’t yell at people, I don’t mistreat people, I don’t talk down to people. So no one else in this building, in this vicinity, has the right to do it.” You hear that all you so-called bosses, treat your employee’s with respect!

Her show’s distribution contract ends in 2011, but Oprah is looking forward to her OWN network and promises that it will be more expansive than anything she’s ever developed: “My intention is for it to live beyond me, for it to be a living network of possibilities for people in their own lives,” she explains. “To be able to say that my life was used in service, to help people come to their highest potential—I would do it even if my name wasn’t attached to it.”