Oprah Winfrey Dropped Some Pounds, Gained Some Cash

December 27, 2016 / Posted by:

A few days ago it was announced that Oprah Winfrey had lost over 40 pounds on Weight Watchers. Not only is she a client, she’s a shareholding board member, too! Oprah could attach her name to just about anything and watch the bucks roll into her bank account, so this meant that the Weight Watchers stock went way up on Thursday following the announcement.

Via CNN Money:

Shares of Weight Watchers surged 17% Thursday morning after the company unveiled a new ad campaign with Winfrey … Oprah is the third largest shareholder in Weight Watchers. She owns nearly 6.4 million shares of the company — a stake worth about $77 million. That’s an increase of $10 million from Wednesday. She is also on the board of Weight Watchers.

But all that glitters isn’t skinny-ass gold.

While Oprah may be making big bucks on Weight Watchers, that’s not the case for investors who only bought after finding out that she was involved.
Shares of Weight Watchers have plummeted nearly 50% this year and are down about 60% from the highest post-Oprah investment price they hit in November 2015.
The stock has bounced around wildly — often due to stories about Oprah and her weight.

That is some cold-hearted shit! I’d hate to think that several million dollars and a multi-national corporation would hinge on whether or not I can stick to some Goop-style kale salad enemas. Seriously, no thanks.

And since almost every person alive these days has a smartphone and a tight wallet, most don’t feel the need to pay a monthly subscription to a company when there are approximately 6,000 free apps that do basically the same thing. But, Oprah’s brand is strong and it says a lot that she’s able to move the needle on the Weight Watchers scale as wildly as she has been.

I know Oprah hasn’t been in the public eye as much in the past few years, but I can’t wait for her to emerge in a few months looking like Star Jones or Al Roker after gastric bypass. There’s a certain look of elegance that comes from a mid-life celebrity rapidly losing weight to become the deflated party balloon version of themselves. It’s a Spring-look that really sizzles.

Pic: WENN

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