Sara Blakely Bio | Wiki
Sara Blakely (Sara Treleaven Blakely) is an American philanthropist and entrepreneur best known as the founder of Spanx, an intimate apparel company with pants and leggings based in Atlanta, Georgia. Additionally, she is the founder of the Sara Blakely Foundation launched in 2006 with the aim of helping women through education and entrepreneurial training.
Sara has appeared on several television shows including The Rebel Billionaire, American Inventor, Billions, and Shark Tank. In 2012, Times magazine named Sara among the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2014, Forbes ranked her the 93rd most powerful woman in the world. Sara paid $162,500 at an auction held in 2019 for the black pants worn by Olivia Newton-John in Grease.
In 2020, she pledged to give $5 million to support female-run small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2006, she appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and donated $1 million to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. Sara became the very first female to join the “Giving Pledge,” where the world’s richest people donate at least half of their wealth to charity, she joined the charity in 2013 alongside Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.
Sara Blakely Age | Birthday
She was born on February 27, 1971, in Clearwater, Florida, in the United States of America. Sara is 51 years old and celebrates her birthday on February 27.
Sara Blakely Height
She is a woman of average stature. Sara stands at a height of 5 ft 4 in (approx. 1.62 m).
Sara Blakely Family
She was born and also raised in Clearwater, Florida under the love and care of her parents Ellen and John. Her father was a trial attorney while her mother was an artist. Sara grew up in a family of four alongside her brother Ford, who is also an artist. She holds an American nationality by birth but belongs to the white ethnicity.
Sara Blakely Husband
She is a loving wife to her hardworking husband Jesse Itzler. Jesse is a successful businessman and co-founder of Marquis Jet, a company that sells fractional ownership shares of private business jets. The duo has been living together since they were wedded in 2008. The two love birds are proud parents of four adorable children.
Sara Blakely Wedding
Sara and Jesse officially tied the knot in 2008 at the Gasparilla Inn and Club in Boca Grande, Florida. The adorable couple met at a Net Jet Poker Tournament and dated for a year before they officially got engaged. During the wedding, there was a surprise performance by singer Olivia Newton-John. Additionally, the wedding was attended by actor Matt Damon.
Sara Blakely Education
Growing up in Florida, Sara attained her high school diploma from Clearwater High School and later decided to further her studies at Florida State University, where she received her Bachelor’s degree in communication.
Sara Blakely Shark Tank
Shark Tank is a reality television series that airs on ABC since its debut on August 9, 2009. The show is an American franchise of the international format Dragons’ Den which originated from Japan’s Money Tigers. As of now, the series has aired 13 seasons with a total of 291 episodes each lasting for approximately 42 minutes. Sara appeared on the series as a guest investor on several episodes during seasons 9 and 10.
Sara Blakely Spanx
She is the founder of Spanx, an American intimate apparel company with pants and leggings based in Atlanta, Georgia. After she launched the company it achieved $4 million during its first year and $10 million during its second year. In 2001, she signed a contract with QVC, the home shopping channel. Sara purchase her company’s trademark on the USPTO website for $150 and paid via her credit card.
In October 2021, the Blackstone Group acquired a majority stake of Spanx, Inc when the company was valued at $1.2 billion. Despite selling a majority of her company, she retained the position as the company’s Executive Chairwoman. After the transaction was successful, Sara showed appreciation to her 750 employees by giving each $10,000 in cash and letting them purchase two first-class plane tickets to any destination they desired to travel to.
Sara Blakely Founder
In 2006, Sara founded the Sara Blakely Foundation with the aim of helping her fellow women through education and entrepreneurial training. Richard Branson showed support to Sara’s foundation and donated $750,000 during the launching of the foundation. As of now, her foundation has funded scholarships for young women at the Community and Individual Development Association City Campus.
Sara Blakely Net Worth
From her lifestyle, it is quite obvious that she has accumulated a desirable amount of wealth from her profession over the years. Sara’s average net worth is $1 billion.
How Old Is Sara Blakely
She was born to her loving parents on February 27, 1971, in Clearwater, Florida, in the United States of America. Therefore, Sara is 51 years old.
How Much Is Sara Blakely
Being among the most successful women all over the nation, it is obvious she lives an extravagant lifestyle. Sara’s average net worth is $1 billion.