I suppose not. It’s true that she has done some good charitable work also.
Maybe she should donate to the Shut Up Dr. Phil Fund.
snort
Are you starting one? Here’s a buck. I’ll give you more on payday.
I have seen this guy exactly three times in my whole life and I cannot stand him.
Huh. I could have sworn you were a Republican. I see I was mistaken.
True, she ought to. And perhaps she is (in addition to her promotions on the show). If she had unpublicized charities, well, by definition we wouldn’t know about them.
Wow… the condescension in this thread is overpowering and that people are looking down on her for “only” getting Pontiac to give over a hundred cars away is ludicrous.
Yes, Oprah is a billionaire and, yes, she could do much more than she does but she does a hell of a lot more than I expect any of us do and I don’t mean that just because she can afford to either.
Those are *her * hard-earned billions and it is her perogative to spend them as *she * pleases… if she were to spend it all on building the world’s largest rubber band ball and not give the first penny to anyone else, that wouldn’t be of any concern to us.
Bill Gates has given away billions of dollars. Gates Charity Money
“In January, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation edged past Britain’s Wellcome Trust to become the largest in the world, with assets of $21.8 billion. Even the greatest philanthropists of the past did not give away as much in real dollars over their entire lifetimes as Gates has at the age of 44”
Yeah, I meant to change that, but I hit submit prematurely. :rolleyes:
I was thinking about Oprah recently when someone gave me a copy of an old “O” magazine when I was laid up last month. It had the usual advice column (by Dr. “get over yourself” Phil), a beauty secrets column, and a soft article on health. It also had a spread on Oprah’s hairdressers new house and what she ate for lunch, etc. Even though I have not read her magazine before (nor do I watch the show), I thought “What a vanity- a whole magazine dedicated to who she knows and what she does”.
I found the magazine to be mostly fluff and advertisements, but I heard on the news the total value of the Monday giveaway was 7 million dollars. That just rocks no matter who actually paid for it. If Oprah was intrumental in putting that together, she deserves the credit for having done so.
I understand Oprah is the cover girl on every issue of her magazine. I wonder if it hurts to smile that much 
. Also, she is very beautiful. When did that happen?
Isn’t it just as good and socially responsible to use your influence and clout as it is to use your money? I mean, people say all the time that so and so has all this power and they only choose to use it in thus-and-such way (that the speaker disagrees with). So she uses her power and influence for the good of others - there’s no reason that’s less laudable than using her money for the same thing. Not to mention that for all I know she could donate millions anonymously to charity and choose not to tell anybody, and good for her if she did. It’s not my business what she does with the money she’s earned by working damned hard.
It’s not like she was born with bazillions and did her best to piss it away and then appeared in a seriously creepy sex tape like some people I could mention. Although I’d almost rather see her getting it on than Paris Hilton - at least somebody in the tape might act like they were having a good time.
And who’s to say that Pontiac didn’t contact her?
A lot of people do feel that Oprah is a role model and someone to emulate. Hell, even if she did get a massive tax write-off, here’s to hoping that any number of people are inspired to follow her example and help where they can.
I’ve been thinking of Oprah lately- who, by the way, still looks scary without makeup- and I’ve come to this conclusion:
Oprah for President 2020. I think it would fly.
If I ever feel short changed by life - like I can’t succeed because I’m too female, my parents weren’t wealthy, I didn’t go to the right schools - I remember Oprah. One of the worlds most powerful people (and financially she hasn’t done too bad either) with the deck stacked against her. Black, overweight, from poverty - she had managed to make it through hard work, brains charisma and luck.
I think that’s pretty inspiring. If she does nothing other than inspire people, she has contributed more to the world than most people manage.
According to Pontiac, they learned of the idea from her: http://www.pontiac.com/wildestdreams. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she had made direct contact with the CEO of General Motors.
TeaElle
Salvation Army They run a soup kitchen in my city. Perhaps you could find a local one for volunteer work where you’re at, I’m sure they could use you.
Incidentally, for those who missed the episode, the link I provided to Pontiac has a video of some highlights.
Oprah Winfrey is an amazing woman. She’s a black woman who picked herself up from the depths of poverty and abuse (IIRC, she is a rape victim) to get to a point where she can influence multi-milion dollar corporations to loosen their pursestrings for a cause. Why care if she has or has not used her own money? Why care if she does or does not feels genuine pleasure from what she does? Why care if she gets publicity out of it?!
The point is that she is changing peoples lives in a way that might not have been possible if they were to do it themselves, and therein lies her greatness. More power to her and her kind.
I’m no particular fan of Oprah but I admire what she did. I agree: who cares if she gave the money from her own personal funds or got a corporation to sponsor it?
If I recall, Bill & Melinda Gates have also given away millions or billions. This was after they (or just he, before they were married) were criticized some years back for making donations primarily earmarked for the purchase of computers. It would be kind of like if Oprah’s charitable contributions were all discounts off a subscription to a magazine, with the only magazine available being her own.
…with another Madonna story.
When Madonna was on Oprah in 1998, O wore a lovely blue Chanel ensemble. She said that it was expensive, even for her, but she felt she had to get something special since Madonna was coming. Madonan said; “Did you know they make matching shoes for that outfit?” and Oprah said yes, but they didn’t have any in her size.
At the end of the show, Madonna brought out a Chanel shopping bag and gave Oprah the matching shoes.. Oprah was astounded; “How did you get these?” We all wanted to know the answer, but Madonna just smiled and said; “I have my methods.”
It was so cool to see Oprah, who usually pulls the “Surprise! Have some fabulous free stuff.” on other people, getting it done to her.
I love Oprah. I don’t watch her show, but I admire her civic duties.
Further more, anyone who can go from whatshe looked like in the color purple to what she looks like now, deserves some recognition!
Tax lawyers know how to set these things up and Oprah can afford the very best.