Suze Orman

Infobox Person
name = Suze Orman
birth_name = Susan Lynn Orman
birth_date = birth date and age|1951|06|05
birth_place = city-state|Chicago|Illinois


caption =
residence =
nationality = American
known_for = "The Suze Orman Show"
education =
alma_mater =
employer =
occupation = financial advisor, writer, television personality
home_town =
religion =
partner = Kathy Travis
website = [http://www.suzeorman.com SuzeOrman.com]

Suze Orman (born Susan Lynn Orman June 5, 1951) is an American financial advisor, writer, and television personality. [ [http://inogolo.com/pronunciation/d1047/Suze_Orman "Pronunciation of Suze Orman"] . "inogolo". Retrieved 2008-04-03. ]

She is the host of "The Suze Orman Show" on CNBC. She has written six consecutive "New York Times" Best Sellers, has written, co-produced, and hosted six PBS specials based on her books, and is the single most successful fund raiser in the history of public television. Similar programs that she hosts on QVC, the leading home shopping network, also place her as the top seller. [ [http://www.wholelife.com/index.php?option=com_sobi2&sobi2Task=sobi2Details&sobi2Id=8&Itemid=101l] . "Wholelife". ] In 2004 and 2006, Orman won two daytime Emmy Awards in the category of "Outstanding Service Show Host" for her PBS specials. Over her television career, she has won more Gracie Awards (5) than anyone in the 33-year history of these awards. [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11642946/] "Gracie Awards". ] In 2008, she was selected by "Time" magazine as one of the most influential people in the world.

Biography

Early life

Orman was born on the South Side of city-state|Chicago|Illinois, in 1951 to Russian-Jewish immigrants Ann and Morry Orman.cite journal |last=Cantor |first=Danielle |title=Successful Women: Suze Orman |publisher=Jewish Women International |work=Jewish Woman |issue=Fall 2004 |url=http://www.jwmag.org/site/c.fhLOK0PGLsF/b.2440689/k.3442/Suze_Orman.htm |accessdate=2007-05-30] cite news |last=Bloom |first=Nate |title=Celebrity Jews: Briefly noted |publisher=San Francisco Jewish Community Publications Inc. |work=j. |date=2004-06-11 |url=http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/22714/edition_id/455/format/html/displaystory.html |accessdate=2007-05-30] Orman came from a working class background and has said that she did not "grow up with money."cite news |last=Iwata |first=Edward |title=Personal finance guru Suze Orman is keepin' it real despite her astounding success |publisher=San Francisco Chronicle |date=1999-05-04 |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/archive/1999/05/04/BUSINESS10622.dtl |accessdate=2007-05-30] She was an undergraduate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, from which she holds a B.A. in social work. In 1973, she moved with friends to Berkeley, California and lived for three months in a van on Hearst Avenue. She soon became a waitress at the Buttercup Bakery on College Avenue. In 1980, a longtime customer gave Orman a loan of $50,000 to help her fulfill her dream of opening her own restaurant. Orman invested the money at Merrill Lynch, but four months later was broke again, after she was swindled by her stockbroker.cite video |people=Orman, Suze |title=Women and Money |medium=TV-program |date2=2008-06-05 |location=PBS pledge programming |publisher=PBS |url=http://wgbh.org/schedules/program-info?program_id=3204814&episode_id=3204816 ]

Knowing that she couldn't make the money back by waitressing, and having started learning more about finances and investing, Orman returned to Merrill Lynch and entered their training program to become an account executive. After she completed the training, she was hired by the firm and remained there until 1983 when she left to take a position as a vice president of investments at Prudential Bache Securities. In 1987, Orman resigned and opened her own financial planning firm, the Suze Orman Financial Group, in Emeryville, California. She acted as director of the firm until 1997, when she stepped down as her writing career took off with the publication of her second book.cite news |last=Andriani |first=Lynn |title=The Dollars and Sense of Suze Orman |publisher=Publisher's Weekly |date=2003-02-24 |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA278785.html?display=archive |accessdate=2008-01-25]

Books

Orman's books include:
*"The 9 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) (1997)
*"The Courage to Be Rich" (1998)
*"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)

Orman has a Q&A advice section in Oprah Winfrey's monthly magazine "O", alongside Dr. Phil's advice section. She also writes a biweekly column (as of January 2008), entitled "Money Matters" on Yahoo!'s finance website. For many years, she has contributed on a monthly basis to "Costco Connection", a magazine published by the membership wholesaler. She is also a contributor to several other magazines and publications including "The Philadelphia Inquirer", "Lowes MoneyWorks", and "Your Business at Home Magazine".Orman, Suze. " [http://www.graduateriche.com/blog/?tag=suze-orman Moving Past Fear and Toward Success.] ", Your Business at Home Magazine, Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2008, p. 36] citation|url=http://www.keyspeakers.com/bio.php?Suze_Orman|title=Internationally Acclaimed Personal Finance Expert; Host of CNBC's, "The Suze Orman Show"|publisher=KeySpeakers.com]

Television

Orman hosts a weekend financial planning show on CNBC called "The Suze Orman Show". [ [http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/CNBCTV/TV_Info/Anchors&Reporters/P5519.asp] Dead link|date=April 2008] She hosts another TV program on QVC called "Suze Orman's Financial Freedom". Orman recently celebrated her 5th year on "The Suze Orman Show" and her 11th anniversary on QVC.

She won two Daytime Emmy Awards in 2004 and 2006 for her PBS pledge drive specials, "The Laws of Money, The Lessons of Life" and "The Money Show for the Young, Fabulous, & Broke". Her catch phrases are "Self-worth equals net worth", "People first, then money, then things", and "Truth creates money. Lies destroy it." She ends each episode of "The Suze Orman Show" with "People first, then money, then things".

In early 2007, Orman launched a segment on "The Suze Orman Show" called "Can I Afford It?" During the segment viewers call in to the show and tell Orman what they want to buy – such as an engagement ring, car, or HDTV – then tell her their amount of income, savings, retirement savings, credit card debt, home loans, and other debt. Orman then determines if the caller can or can't afford the item, and explains why.

In February 2008, Orman appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and announced that her most recent book, "Women and Money", would be available for free on Oprah's website for 33 hours. Over 1 million people downloaded the book.

In an April 2008 online interview with the "The Young Turks", Orman stated that her net worth is more than $10 million. In an interview discussing her own investment portfolio, Orman shared the details of her personal strategy. It is highly conservative compared with traditional investment theory, which emphasizes asset diversification and a significant allocation to equities for long-term growth. Orman stated: "I have a million dollars in the stock market because if I lose a million dollars, I don't personally care. I buy zero-coupon municipal bonds, and all the bonds I buy are triple-A rated and insured so even if the city goes under, I get my money. I take a little lower interest rate to make sure my bonds are 100 percent safe and sound." ["She's So Money" by Deborah Solomon, Sunday New York Times magazine; 25 February 2007.]

In July 2008, CNBC began airing new weeknight editions of "The Suze Orman Show", replacing Dylan Ratigan's "Fast Money". Orman has been featured on the Food Network's "Paula's Party" alongside RuPaul.

Criticism

In 1998, "Forbes" magazine reported that Orman had misrepresented her credentials, and criticized some of her advice as simplistic. For example, her book claimed that she had a current Commodity Trading Advisor license, when in fact it had lapsed, and some of her materials stated she had eighteen years of experience working with Wall Street institutions when she had had seven.Barrett, William P. [http://members.forbes.com/forbes/1998/1228/6214118a.html Sizzling Suze] . "Forbes". 1998-12-28] The "San Francisco Chronicle" ran a follow-up article in which a representative of Orman stated that the book's publisher, Crown, used inaccurate information without Orman's knowledge. [Veverka, Mark. [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1999/01/06/BU35154.DTL Why Suze? Why All the Hype? Orman's Publicist Goes on the Defense] . "San Francisco Chronicle". 1999-01-06.]

Personal life

In February 2007, Orman told "The New York Times Magazine" that she is a lesbian.Solomon, Deborah. " [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/25/magazine/25wwlnq4.t.html Questions for Suze Orman: She's So Money] ". "The New York Times Magazine". 2007-02-25.] Her partner of seven years is Kathy Travis, a co-producer on "The Suze Orman Show". [ [http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003549559] Dead link|date=April 2008 ] [Lo, Malinda. " [http://www.afterellen.com/people/2007/2/suzeorman Suze Orman Comes Out] ". "AfterEllen.com". 2007-02-25.] [" [http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2007/02/23/6 Money maven Suze Orman comes out] ". "The Advocate". 2007-02-23.] In the interview, Orman said that she wishes she could marry her partner partly because it could save them both a lot of money. She says, "It's killing me that upon death, K.T. is going to lose 50 percent of everything I have to estate taxes. Or vice versa."

Political donations

According to the Federal Election Commission, Suze Orman has donated money to the Democratic National Committee and to the 2000 senate campaign of Hillary Clinton (D-NY). [ [http://www.newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/Suze_Orman.php NEWSMEAT ▷ Suze Orman's Federal Campaign Contribution Report ] ]

In 2008, Orman donated $28,000 to the Democratic National Committee. [ [http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=PA&last=Orman&first=Suze NEWSMEAT ▷ Suze Orman's federal campaign contribution search results ] ] She stated in an interview with Larry King in 2008 she believes the US Democratic Party does a better job of managing the economy and proposing legislation to protect consumers. She also said she is a huge admirer of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. [ [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0801/02/lkl.01.html CNN.com - Transcripts ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.suzeorman.com Suze Orman, The Suze Orman Show] Suze Orman Financial Group Web site
* [http://biz.yahoo.com/pfg Money Matters - Yahoo! Finance] Orman's regular column on Yahoo! Finance
* [http://www.cnbc.com/id/15838016/ Suze Orman Bio on CNBC.com]
* CNBC. " [http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/CNBCTV/TV_Info/Anchors&Reporters/P5519.asp Anchors & Reporters: Suze Orman] ". Retrieved July 23, 2006
* [http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/video.php?id=1747 Suze Orman Interview] on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1217515/ Suze Orman IMDB page]