I instantaneously picked Oprah Winfrey, the queen of all talk shows, as my entrepreneur example. From her childhood of poverty to a disturbing history of rape, Oprah has persevered and is now titled the richest African American in the 20th century. Even contributing to Obama’s campaign, Oprah is possibly the most influential woman in the world; the power of her opinion and endorsements to influence the public is known as “The Oprah Effect.”

Now, why does she fit into the entrepreneur catagory?

Although she isn’t of “high aptitude,” she certainly pioneers change and “undertakes” new projects. Oprah is currently the Chairwoman and CEO of HARPO productions as well as the Oprah Winfrey Network, making her the first woman in history to own and produce her own talk show.

Therefore I consider her to be an organization which has gained wealth from this new high demand. Within several years, the Oprah Winfrey Show has aired in 140 countries to 46 million US viewers weekly, and established the Oprah’s Angel Network which raised $11M for Hurricane Katrina along with endless philanthropic actions in Africa. Impressed yet? She has also written 5 books and runs her famous O’ Magazine. Furthermore, the creation of the Dr. Phil show and its success is due to the concept of Oprahfication (where public confessions are used as a form of therapy).

In all, I believe she idolizes the characteristics of the ideal entrepreneur. Go Oprah!