Sara Blakely, Spanx Inventor Becomes First Female Billionaire
You’ve come a long way, baby. When Sara Blakely founded her lingerie company called Spanx, she didn’t realize that a few short years later she would be recognized as the first woman in the world to amass one billion dollars through her own creative efforts as an entrepreneur marketing shapewear for females. But proving that money isn’t everything to the young female tycoon, Blakely has agreed to sign the Giving Pledge started by fellow billionaire Bill Gates. The Giving Pledge was founded in order to encourage the wealthiest individuals in the world to give away at least one-half of their fortunes toward the betterment of others.
Blakely, who at 42 still controls the reins of the Atlanta-based Spanx as a privately held enterprise, admitted that she took several months to consider whether signing the Giving Pledge was the right thing to do. She decided it was, but it’s not her first experience in philanthropy.
She has already been funding a variety of projects seeking to better the lives of young girls and women in addition to making an official $100,000 donation to the Detroit-based Empowerment Plan, an innovative organization that helps young homeless women find employment producing coats for the homeless.
Source:
Sara Blakely Spanx becomes Billionaire
http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2013/05/07/spanx-mogul-sara-blakely-becomes-first-female-billionaire-to-join-gates-buffett-giving-pledge/
