Susan Lynn ‘Suze’ Orman is a financial counselor, TV personality, author, and motivational speaker from the United States. She is most known for her CNBC show, ‘The Suze Orman Show,’ as well as the several books she has authored on a range of financial themes, such as ‘You’ve Earned It, Don’t Lose It,’ ‘The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom,’ and so on. When Orman was a child, she came from a middle-class family and had to deal with a lot of money problems. She dropped out of education and moved to California to work as a waitress in a bakery, where she worked for seven years and dreamed of having her own restaurant. Some of her longstanding customers assisted her in saving $50,000 to help her realize her ambition. She took her money to Merrill Lynch since she didn’t know what to do with a huge quantity of money at the time. A broker misled her, and she lost all of her money. This encounter inspired her to pursue a career in finance on her own, and she eventually worked for Merrill Lynch. She then created her own financial business, and thanks to media attention and best-selling books, she rose from a waitress earning $400 per week to a national celebrity.
Childhood and Adolescence
Suze Orman was born in Chicago, Illinois on June 5, 1951. Her father worked as a secretary for a local rabbi, while her mother worked at a poultry factory. Throughout her childhood, her family was plagued by financial difficulties.
Orman had a tough upbringing, due in large part to her speech handicap. She studied social work at the University of Illinois but dropped out to go on a road trip across America with her companions. She worked at the Buttercup Bakery in California for seven years and dreamed of having a restaurant. Some of the bakery’s customers assisted Orman in saving money for her restaurant.
Career of Suze Orman
Fred Hasbrook, a longstanding client of Orman’s, presented her a cheque for $2000 in 1980, allowing her to pursue her ambition of owning her own restaurant. Not only that, but he encouraged other clients to do the same, resulting in a $50,000 savings for her. Orman had little experience handling money and ended up entrusting her savings to Merrill Lynch. She was persuaded by a broker to pursue easy money, and she ended up losing all she owned.
Orman was so shocked by the experience that she began studying finance by reading the Wall Street Journal and Barron’s. She applied for a position as a broker at Merrill Lynch, the same firm where she had previously worked.
During her training, she discovered that the broker who had previously dealt with her had broken several of the company’s rules, and she filed a lawsuit against Merrill Lynch. The corporation agreed to pay her and reached an out-of-court settlement.
After a few years with Merrill Lynch, she moved on to Prudential Bache Securities. Suze Orman Financial Group, her own firm, was founded in California in 1987. She stayed on as the firm’s director for more than ten years. Orman had her first appearance in the media around this time, when she contacted a local radio station to protest about one of their guests providing inaccurate financial information. Within a week, she was asked to do a show.
In 1995, she earned significant success with the publication of her book ‘You’ve Earned It, Don’t Lose It,’ which sold over 70,000 copies owing to Orman’s aggressive advertising. Following the popularity of her first book, Orman wrote ‘The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom’ in 1997. It was a book based on an Orman-designed workshop that sold over 3 million copies. She became a bestselling author as a result of the popularity of her works. ‘The Courage to be Rich (1999),’ ‘The Road to Wealth (2001),’ and ‘The Laws of Money, The Lessons of Life (2003)’ are some of Orman’s other works.
In 2003, she acquired her own show on CNBC, ‘The Suze Orman Show,’ after establishing herself as a popular financial guru. The American Women in Radio and Television presented her with the Gracie Allen Award.
Orman was invited on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2008, owing to her strong image as America’s top financial counselor. She gave away free copies of her most recent book, ‘Money and Women,’ which has received over two million downloads.
Orman had her own program on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, ‘America’s Money Class with Suze Orman,’ which was a six-episode television series, since she is one of Oprah’s favorite female financial consultants.
Major Projects of Suze Orman
Orman is most known for her show “The Suze Orman Show,” which debuted in 2003 and quickly became a hit. She became so well-known as a result of the show that she was invited to participate on other prominent television and radio shows.
Personal History and Legacy
Orman is a self-described lesbian who is upfront about her sexual orientation. Kathy Travis was her husband when she married in 2010.
Estimated Net Worth
Suze Orman has a net worth of $75 million and is a financial counselor, TV personality, author, and motivational speaker. Suze Orman is a financial expert who has written ten best-selling books in a row for the New York Times. Merrill Lynch was her first job in finance. Prudential Bache Securities hired her as a vice president. Suze Orman Financial Group was established in the late 1980s. “Suze Orman’s Women & Money Podcast” is a semi-weekly podcast that she hosts.
Trivia
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign awarded Orman an honorary doctorate of humane letters in 2009.