As a businesswoman, Oprah Winfrey has made more than a billion dollars calling her own shots and says she is not looking for shareholders to help her now, thank you very much.
At the launch Monday of “Oprah & Friends”, Winfrey’s 24-hour lifestyle channel on XM Satellite Radio Holding Inc.’s pay-radio service, Winfrey said she is not interested in taking her television, publishing or radio operations public.
Asked if she would consider offering the public shares in her multimedia company Harpo Productions, Winfrey said: “No. Not even for more money.”
“I like being able to control it. I don’t want anybody else telling me what to do. I’ve earned my freedom. I want to stay free,” she told Reuters on the sidelines of a press conference in New York.
“Oprah & Friends” is the initial effort of Harpo Radio, which joins other segments such as Harpo Films, Harpo Inc. Harpo Print and Harpo Productions, the outfit behind her top-rated television talk show, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and Web site Oprah.com.
Winfrey is one of the world’s richest women with an estimated $1.5 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
