She’s the most generous giver of any celebrity
Dr Bruce Manners
Senior minister
Avondale College Seventh-day Adventist Church
Oprah’s in Australia with 300 of her new best friends—people who happened to be at her show when she announced her trip. The 300 came by Qantas; Oprah by private jet.
Apparently she’s had 350,000 people try to get tickets for her shows, when there’s a limit of 12,000.
Oprah’s empire makes her one of the richest women in the world. She’s also the most powerful, at least in some areas.
It’s estimated her endorsement of Barack Obama was worth a million votes. In 1996, when she told her audience she was afraid to eat a burger because of mad cow disease, cattle futures fell by 10 per cent. More than 640,000 copies of Tostoy’s Anna Karenina sold in the 12 weeks after it featured in Oprah’s Book Club. In the 12 weeks before, it sold about 12,000.
I’m not an Oprah fan. She has an average daily audience of about 162,000 in Australia, so I’m not alone. But is the reception over the top? The crowds? The people brought to tears? The “O” on Sydney Harbour Bridge?
Her high profile makes her the target of critics. I’m critical of the spiritual advice she dispenses—an eclectic mix of Judeo-Christian thought meets Eastern mysticism.
What’s undeniable is her charitable work. She’s the most generous giver of any celebrity—$40 million to charity this year. That’s about 10 times as much as the second and third-placed celebrities.
So what, when she has it to give away?
But she doesn’t have to. And she still gave $40 million.
You’ve got to love that.
Tags: Bruce Manners