Suze Orman - Biography

Susan "Suze" Lynn Orman (born June 5, 1951) is an American financial advisor, author, motivational speaker, and television host.

Orman was born in Chicago and received her B.A. in social work. She worked as a waitress in Berkeley, California before becoming a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch. In 1983 she became the vice-president of investments at Prudential Bache Securities and in 1987 founded the Suze Orman Financial Group.

Her program The Suze Orman Show has aired for ten years and is one of the highest rated shows on CNBC. She has written nine consecutive New York Times Best Sellers and has written, co-produced and hosted seven PBS specials based on her books. Her PBS shows are the most successful fundraisers for PBS and have won two Emmy awards. She has also won the most Gracie Awards of any individual. In 2008 and 2009, Orman was named to the Times Magazine list of 100 most influential people, the 2010 Forbes Magazine 100 most powerful women in the world, and 18th on the Forbes list of The Most Influential Women In Media.

Early life and education

Orman was born on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, in 1951 to parents who were Russian and Romanian Jewish immigrants. Her parents managed a delicatessen in Hyde Park.

She attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and received a B.A. in social work in 1976. In 2009, Orman received an honorary degree of doctor of humane letters from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Career

After finishing school, Orman moved to Berkeley, California and became a waitress. In 1980, she borrowed $52,000 from friends and well wishers to open a restaurant.

Later, Orman trained as an account executive for Merrill Lynch. She simultaneously and successfully sued Merrill Lynch for a prior investment loss of $50,000. After completing her training with Merrill Lynch, she remained at the firm until 1983 when she left to become vice-president of investments at Prudential Bache Securities.

In 1987, Orman resigned from Prudential and founded the Suze Orman Financial Group, in Emeryville, California. She was director of the firm until 1997.

In 2007, Orman created an interactive TV show called "Can I Afford it?".

In February 2008, Orman gave away 1 million electronic copies of her book Women and Money following an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. In July, Orman began hosting a financial advice show called The Suze Orman Show. Orman has also been featured on the Food Network's Paula's Party alongside RuPaul.

In January 2011, Orman appeared on the TV show, "Oprah's Allstars".

Orman writes an advice column for O. She is the former author of Yahoo!'s "Money Matters" and has written for the Costco Connection magazine. She is also a contributor to the The Philadelphia Inquirer, Lowes MoneyWorks, and Your Business at Home Magazine.

Reception

Orman has written nine New York Times Best Sellers; and has written, co-produced, and hosted seven PBS specials based on her books; and is said to be the most successful fundraiser in the history of public television. She is also considered a "top seller" on the QVChome shopping network. Orman won the Daytime Emmy Award in 2004 and 2006 in the category of Outstanding Service Show Host for her PBS pledge drive specials, The Laws of Money, The Lessons of Life and The Money Show for the Young, Fabulous, & Broke. Orman has also won six Gracie Awards.

Personal life

In February 2007, Orman told The New York Times Magazine that she is a lesbian . According to her Twitter page, Orman married Kathy Travis, a co-producer on The Suze Orman Show, in South Africa in September 2010.

According to the Federal Election Commission, Orman has donated money to the Democratic National Committee and to the 2000 Senate campaign of Hillary Clinton (D-NY). In 2008, Orman donated $28,000 to the Democratic National Committee. She stated in an interview with Larry King in 2008 that she favors the economic policies of the Democratic party and President Barack Obama.

In an April 2008 online interview with The Young Turks, Orman stated that her net worth is more than ten million USD.

Publications

Books

• The Nine Steps To Financial Freedom (1997)
• You've Earned It, Don't Lose It: Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make When You Retire (with Linda Mead) (1995)
• The Courage to Be Rich (1999)
• The Road to Wealth (2001)
• The Laws of Money, the Lessons of Life... (2003)
• The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke (2005)
• Women and Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny (2007)
• Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan (2009)
• Suze Orman's 2010 Action Plan (March 2010)
• The Money Class: Learn to Create Your New American Dream (March 2011)

Multimedia

Orman is also creator of a number of non-book products, primarily CD-ROM-based services that offer education and various financial services usually in conjunction with her books and writings.

• Suze Ormans FICO Kit – First offered in 2002 in conjunction with Fair Isaac Corporation.
• Suze Orman's Will & Trust Kit – Introduced in 2005 with her personal trust attorney.
• Suze Orman's Insurance Kit – Introduced in 2007.
• Suze Orman's Protection Portfolio – First introduced in 2002, in third version.
• Suze Orman's Identity Theft Kit – First offered in 2008, in conjunction with TrustedID, Inc.
• Suze Orman's Save Yourself Retirement Program – Introduced September 2009, in conjunction with TD Ameritrade.

External links

• Suze Orman Official Site Suze Orman Financial Group Web site
• Suze Orman Show, CNBC Suze Orman Show
• Money Matters - Yahoo! Finance Orman's regular column on Yahoo! Finance
• Suze Orman Bio on CNBC.com
• CNBC. "Anchors & Reporters: Suze Orman". Retrieved July 23, 2006
• Suze Orman Interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos
• Suze Orman IMDB page