Spanx designer, Sara Blakely, 41, has been named the youngest woman to become a billionaire according to the Forbes top 25 ‘Billionaires List’. According to the magazine, Spanx is valued by several Wall Street Banks at an average $1 billion. Amazing considering the then 27 year old Blakely couldn’t have predicted how successful her business venture would become. With $5,000 in the bank and a frustration brought on over old-fashioned pantyhose revealing seams at the toes and failing to flatter the figure in all the right places, Blakely began her crusade to design the perfect pantyhose.
Well, she wasn’t alone. Millions of women across America were faced with the same ordeal, and whether she knew it or not, she took advantage of the a lacked market at exactly the right time. Three years later, with the help of the “O factor” (the design was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show as one of her favorite items) and, just like that, Blakely and her design was a hit!
She now employes a staff of 125 people with only 16 men at her Atlanta-based firm.
How is she doing these days? ”I have to pinch myself,” Blakely told the magazine. “Five grand,” she says, thinking back a decade. “Good investment.”
For the complete list, head over to Forbes.
