# How did Oprah become so powerful? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590 "2011-05-20T16:48:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/101 "2011-05-22T17:18:21Z")
What does money have to do with anything? Why can’t narcissists be rich? Plenty of narcissists make money. Donald Trump, Sarah Palin, Oprah Winfrey. Narcissism is not an impediment to wealth. The pursuit of wealth is, in itself, a trait common to narcissists. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/102 "2011-05-22T17:29:59Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > I like her magazine. > > Her TV show, I’ve watched possibly two or three episodes in all the years its been on. > > I’ve tried to read a few of the book club selections but became suicidal. Ok, someone is going to have to explain to me the problem with Oprah’s book selections. I’ve never watched her book club shows, or any of her shows for that matter, but I have read: A Tale of Two Cities, The Good Earth, Anna Karenina, One Hundred Years of Solitude, East of Eden, The Corrections, The Poisonwood Bible, and Song of Solomon. Excepting One Hundred Years of Solitude, they all range from ok to great, with most falling towards great. Looking over her list of book club books, I don’t see any reason to be suicidal. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/103 "2011-05-22T17:49:49Z")
Here is a list of the books that Oprah has picked: > **[Oprah's Book Club](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah's_Book_Club)** > > Oprah's Book Club was a book discussion club segment of the American talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, highlighting books chosen by host Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey started the book club in 1996, selecting a new book, usually a novel, for viewers to read and discuss each month. In total, the club recommended 70 books during its 15 years. > Due to the book club's widespread popularity, many obscure titles have become very popular bestsellers, increasing sales in some cases by as many as several millio... So, Diogenes the Cynic, you’re saying that making a lot of money on what someone is doing just makes them more of a narcissist. You’re saying that because Oprah has millions of fans who will gladly buy anything she recommends, that makes her even more of a narcissist. On the other hand, you can’t be a narcissist because, despite having more posts to the SDMB than anyone else in its history, you don’t seem to have very many fans who would buy anything you recommend. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/104 "2011-05-22T17:55:33Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Here is a list of the books that Oprah has picked: > > [Oprah's Book Club - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah's_Book_Club) > > So, Diogenes the Cynic, you’re saying that making a lot of money on what someone is doing just makes them more of a narcissist. You’re saying that because Oprah has millions of fans who will gladly buy anything she recommends, that makes her even more of a narcissist. Nope. I haven’t said anything close to either one of those things. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/105 "2011-05-22T18:08:17Z")
Then what is the definition of a narcissist? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/106 "2011-05-22T18:59:36Z")
Extreme self-regard. Pathological egotism and vanity. Self-worship. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheField](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@LilyoftheField](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheField)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/107 "2011-05-22T19:13:58Z")
Sorry, I’m getting into this late, but I’m curious as to what exactly (other than having psychics as guests?) constitutes Oprah’s ‘woo-woo’ philosophy? I’ve seen this mentioned several times in the thread, but I still don’t know what ‘philosophy’ Oprah has expressed that is being questioned and/or criticized and/or derided? Is it just because she was willing to give ‘psychics’ a voice on her show? Has she expressed agreement with said psychics? Is it the whole ‘Secret’ thing? Did she express agreement with that? Is she ‘too’ open minded? 😕 I’m not getting the hate. She’s an incredibly successful businesswoman. Putting her name and face on a magazine seems more in line with making a good business decision than ‘narcissism’, no matter how its defined. Okay, well maybe if you define it as capitalizing on your face/name/brand - if you want to define that as narcissism. In which case, so what? That’s a bad thing? ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheField](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@LilyoftheField](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheField)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/108 "2011-05-22T19:18:41Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Extreme self-regard. Pathological egotism and vanity. Self-worship. ‘Pathology’ implies disease. Are you saying that Oprah has a mental illness which compels her to be an incredibly successful businesswoman? In which case - hey! - not her fault! It’s a disease! We should all be sympathetic… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/109 "2011-05-22T19:38:25Z")
If I tell you, you’ll tell all your friends. Then they will tell all their friends. Then soon \*everyone \*will be as powerful as Oprah. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/110 "2011-05-22T19:52:21Z")
Oprah is a woman who has always triumphed over the odds. She grew up in poverty. She was molested as a child. She ran away from home at 13. She had a baby (who soon died) at 14. Most women fitting that description go nowhere. It was always clear to everyone though that she was smart and talented. She learned to read at 3. In high school she came in second in a national contest for dramatic interpretation. She began working at a radio station in high school and became a TV news anchor at a young age. She had a full scholarship to college. She won the Miss Black Tennessee contest. She had great ratings at her first talk show and over the years has developed her current show into the highest rated talk show of all time. She didn’t do any of those things because she told everyone else how great she was. In each case, somebody else thought she was great. It doesn’t matter whether you don’t think she’s great. It doesn’t matter whether I think she’s great or not. In each case, a lot of people thought she excelled. In each case, I don’t see any evidence that she was deluded about how good people thought she was. In each case, a whole lot of other people told her how good she was. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheField](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@LilyoftheField](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheField)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/111 "2011-05-22T19:55:44Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > If I tell you, you’ll tell all your friends. Then they will tell all their friends. > > Then soon \*everyone \*will be as powerful as Oprah. Oh - better not tell then! I know that I, for one, could not HANDLE that kind of power! I would have backed the whole ‘rapture’ thing just to watch everybody dance! Can you just imagine the reaction if OPRAH was behind the prediction??? :eek: BWAHAAHAAHAAAHAHAH! Oh, sorry…yeah - better not to tell… ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/112 "2011-05-22T19:59:54Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > She didn’t do any of those things because she told everyone else how great she was. In each case, somebody else thought she was great. It doesn’t matter whether you don’t think she’s great. It doesn’t matter whether I think she’s great or not. In each case, a lot of people thought she excelled. In each case, I don’t see any evidence that she was deluded about how good people thought she was. In each case, a whole lot of other people told her how good she was. Which is the thing, right? You don’t get to be as powerful as Oprah unless OTHER PEOPLE believe in you. Whether any one of us does or doesn’t, enough people have - including herself - that she has been successful. Whatever critical mass of likeability needs to be reached to be successful on television, she’s reached it. Whatever critical mass of likeability needs to be reached for her to be successful outside of television, she reached that as well. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/113 "2011-05-22T22:32:29Z")
> [@LilyoftheField](#): > > ‘Pathology’ implies disease. Are you saying that Oprah has a mental illness which compels her to be an incredibly successful businesswoman? In which case - hey! - not her fault! It’s a disease! We should all be sympathetic… :rolleyes: Says who? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/114 "2011-05-22T22:37:05Z")
Are you sympathetic to anything whatsoever, Diogenes the Cynic? ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/115 "2011-05-22T22:44:28Z")
I never took notice of Dio’s ironic post count. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/116 "2011-05-22T22:48:05Z")
> [@LilyoftheField](#): > > Sorry, I’m getting into this late, but I’m curious as to what exactly (other than having psychics as guests?) constitutes Oprah’s ‘woo-woo’ philosophy? I’ve seen this mentioned several times in the thread, but I still don’t know what ‘philosophy’ Oprah has expressed that is being questioned and/or criticized and/or derided? Some examples include _The Secret_, _A Course in Miracles_, Deepak Chopra, faith healing, homeopathy, anti-vax paranoia and ghosts. If here’s any kind of new age woo or pseudo-science bullshit she doesn’t believe, I don’t know what it is. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/117 "2011-05-22T22:51:12Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Are you sympathetic to anything whatsoever, Diogenes the Cynic? Of course. I’m a highly empathic individual. Why would I feel sorry for Oprah Winfey, though. She’s made a lot of money marketing her own personality cult. Why does she need my sympathy? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/118 "2011-05-22T22:53:03Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > I never took notice of Dio’s ironic post count. Wow. What’s ironic about it? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/119 "2011-05-22T23:39:16Z")
Who do you feel sympathetic toward? ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590/120 "2011-05-23T00:23:53Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > If here’s any kind of new age woo or pseudo-science bullshit she doesn’t believe, I don’t know what it is. You just listed a bunch of things you think are woo. Can you demonstrate that Oprah believes in all of them? Or would this be one of the many, many, many things you say about many, many, many things that you can provide absolutely no evidence for, you simply “know” and expect that you announcing what you “know” to be considered evidence for factual reality? I realize that there’s no real point in asking a question that everyone knows the answer to, but sometimes I can’t help myself, I hold out hope… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-oprah-become-so-powerful/582590.md?page=7)