Susan Lynn "Suze" Orman (born June 5, 1951) is an American financial advisor, author, motivational speaker, and television host.[2]
 

Orman was born in Chicago and received her B.A. in social work. She worked as a waitress in Berkeley, California before becoming a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch. In 1983 she became the vice-president of investments at Prudential Bache Securities and in 1987 founded the Suze Orman Financial Group.
 

Her program The Suze Orman Show has aired for eleven years and is one of the highest rated shows on CNBC. She has written nine consecutive New York Times Best Sellers and has written, co-produced and hosted seven PBS specials based on her books. Her PBS shows are the most successful fundraisers for PBS and have won two Emmy awards.[3][4] She has also won the most Gracie Awards of any individual.[5] In 2008 and 2009, Orman was named to the Times Magazine list of 100 most influential people, the 2010 Forbes Magazine 100 most powerful women in the world, and 18th on the Forbes list of The Most Influential Women In Media.

 

Early life and education
 

Orman was born on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, in 1951. Her mother, Ann, worked for a rabbi and also as a legal secretary, and her father, Morrie Orman, plucked chicken feathers.[6][7][8] Her family was Jewish; her father was a Russian immigrant and her mother's family were from Romania.[8][9] Her parents managed a delicatessen in Hyde Park.[10][11][12]

She attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and received a B.A. in social work in 1976.[13] In 2009, Orman received an honorary degree of doctor of humane letters from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.[13]
 

Career
 

After finishing school, Orman moved to Berkeley, California and became a waitress. In 1980, she borrowed $52,000 from friends and well wishers to open a restaurant.[14][15][16][17]

Later, Orman trained as an account executive for Merrill Lynch. She simultaneously and successfully sued Merrill Lynch for a prior investment loss of $50,000. After completing her training with Merrill Lynch, she remained at the firm until 1983 when she left to become vice-president of investments at Prudential Bache Securities.
 

In 1987, Orman resigned from Prudential and founded the Suze Orman Financial Group, in Emeryville, California. She was director of the firm until 1997.
 

In 1995, Orman, published her first book, You Earned it Don't Lose it going on extensive tour to promote the book, eventually selling 700,000 copies. Her second book, The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom, sparked her rise to fame, selling over 3 million copies.[citation needed]
 

Orman's success continued through the late 1990s and early 2000s with the release of The Courage to be Rich in 1999. That same year she was named one of Money magazine's "Power Brokers." More popular titles soon followed, including 2001's The Road to Wealth and 2003's The Laws of Money, The Lessons of Life. She became a hit on public television having many financial specials based on her books. This resulted in her own television show on CNBC, The Suze Orman Show, which has been on the air since 2002. Orman received many accolades for the show including a Daytime Emmy Award for Oustanding Service show Host.[citation needed]
 

In February 2008, Orman gave away 1 million electronic copies of her book Women and Money following an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Orman has also been featured on the Food Network's Paula's Party alongside RuPaul.
 

In January 2011, Orman appeared on the TV show, "Oprah's Allstars".
 

Orman writes an advice column for O. She is the former author of Yahoo!'s "Money Matters" and has written for the Costco Connection magazine. She is also a contributor to the The Philadelphia Inquirer, Lowes MoneyWorks, and Your Business at Home Magazine.[18][19]
 

In January 2012, Orman's new six-episode TV series America's Money Class with Suze Orman premiered on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.[20]
 

Orman's prepaid debit card Approved card was released in January 2012. US News and World reports in 2012 named it as one of the top five prepaid cards out there today. Card Hub in July 2012 named it as the number one card to use for children's allowances.
 

Reception
 

Orman has written nine New York Times Best Sellers; and has written, co-produced, and hosted seven PBS specials based on her books; and is said to be the most successful fundraiser in the history of public television.[3] She is also considered a "top seller" on the QVChome shopping network.[4] Orman won the Daytime Emmy Award in 2004 and 2006 in the category of Outstanding Service Show Host for her PBS pledge drive specials, The Laws of Money, The Lessons of Life and The Money Show for the Young, Fabulous, & Broke. Orman has also won six Gracie Awards.[5]
 

Personal life
 

In February 2007, Orman told The New York Times Magazine that she is a lesbian.[21][22][23][24][25] According to her Twitter page, Orman married Kathy Travis, a co-producer on The Suze Orman Show, in South Africa in September 2010.[26]
 

According to the Federal Election Commission, Orman has donated money to the Democratic National Committee and to the 2000 Senate campaign of Hillary Clinton (D-NY).[27] In 2008, Orman donated $28,000 to the Democratic National Committee.[28] She stated in an interview with Larry King in 2008 that she favors the economic policies of the Democratic party and President Barack Obama.[29]
 

In an April 2008 online interview with The Young Turks, Orman stated that her net worth is more than ten million USD.[30] As of 2012 it is reported that Ms Orman is worth more than 30 million dollars