1. About Sara Blakely :
Sara Treleaven Blakely is an American businesswoman and Philanthropist. She is a founder of Spanx, an apparel company manufacturing slimming garments with pants and leggings. She invented Spanx, without the experience of fashion.
2. CEO and founder of Spanx
3. Founded Spanx in October 2000
4. Sara Blakely is known as the Founder and owner of Spanx and minority owner of Atlanta Hawks.
5. First Career : Want to become an attorney but after scoring very low on the Law School Admission Test; she accepted the job at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. She also occasionally worked as a stand-up comedian during this period.
6. After Disney World : She worked as a fax machine salesperson at Danka and become a national sales trainer at the age of 25.
7. Sara Blakely Foundation : She launched Sara Blakely Foundation in 2006 to give education and entrepreneurial training to women.
8. Giving Pledge : In 2013, she became the first female billionaire to pledge to donate at least half of her wealth to charity.
9. Philanthropy works :
- Through Foundation she has funded scholarships for young women at the Community and Individual Development Association City Campus in South Africa.
- She also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2006, donating US$1 million to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.
- In 2019, she paid $162,500 at an auction for the black pants worn by Olivia Newton-John in Grease, which benefitted Newton-John’s Cancer treatment center in Melbourne.
- She pledged to give $5,000,000 to support female-run small businesses during the Covid pandemic in 2020.
10. In Oct 2021, the company’s majority stake has been acquired by Blackstone Group for US$1.3 billion.
11. Recognition :
- In 2012, Blakely landed on the cover of Forbes magazine for being the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world.
- She was listed as the 93rd most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.
12. Born on : February 27, 1971, in Clear water, Florida
13. Nationality : American
14. Schooling : Clearwater High School
15. Degree : Communication degree from Florida State University
16. Converted to Judaism
17. Parents name : John Blakely and Ellen Blakely
18. Brother : Ford Blakely
19. Husband : Jesse Itzler, he is the co-founder of Marquis Jet
20. Children : Four children
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