Generous by Nature
Out of her generosity, she treated her staff with their families to a 10 day all fully paid Mediterranean cruise in 2009. They had stopovers in Spain, Italy, Greece and Malta. This treat costs her $706,877. Through all of her success, Oprah always made time for philanthropy. In 2004, Oprah became the first African American to rank in the top 50 most generous Americans. By 2012 it was estimated she had donated about $400 million for educational causes. Oprah’s contributions to education don’t end there. She has also supplied over 400 scholarships to Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2013, Winfrey donated $12 million to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History of Culture and was later recognized by President Obama for her contributions with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In 1998, Oprah created her own charitable organization, Oprah’s Angel Network. The organization was put in place to help charitable projects and provide grants to nonprofit organizations globally. Oprah made it her mission to have 100% of all funds go straight to charity programs so she personally covered all administrative costs in order for Oprah’s Angel Network to operate. The organization raised over $80 million by 2010 before they stopped taking donations and eventually dissolved. However, when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Oprah created the Oprah Angel Network Katrina Registry. The relief efforts raised $11 million and had homes built in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama prior to the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and Rita.
