Sara Blakely is the ultimate entrepreneur and philanthropist who has carved her name in gold as one of the most successful women globally. As of 2024, Sara Blakely net worth around $1.2 billion. She is the founder and owner of Spanx brand with its shapewear and clothing line, which has revolutionized women’s notions of fashion, granting them more freedom and feel of comfort. Furthermore, being a part-owner of the Atlanta Hawks, a NBA team, and a supporter of several charities also made her be widely known.
She was just a girl, as any other. No clues about how she was so talented and accomplished to achieve such an unusual performance. Firstly, what type of assets does she own and which one of them comes as income. This blog post will introduce the narrative behind Sara Blakely’s life, describe her various income sources, and reveal her net worth at the time of February 2024.
Sources of Sara Blakely Net Worth
As per Forbes magazine, Sara Blakely has an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion by February 2024. Among other things, she was ranked 93rd on the list of the world’s most powerful women by Forbes Magazine as well as 22nd among America’s richest self-made women. Besides that, in 2012 at only 41 years old, she became history’s youngest female billionaire who made it without inheriting money from anyone else through her own efforts alone.
Spanx
Sara Blakely’s wealth comes from her ownership of Spanx, which she started with $5,000 out of her own savings in 2000. This company is a worldwide leader in the shaping garment sector and it has its products such as leggings, bras, underwear, denim and activewear sold to over fifty countries. Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez are some of the many celebrities who have supported and worn this brand since it has loyal customers. This brand has also won several awards including Time Magazine naming Spanx one of the best inventions in 2000 and Fast Company ranking it among the most innovative companies of 2017.
In October 2021, Sara Blakely sold a big part of Spanx to Blackstone private equity firm for $1.2 billion, making it worth that amount. She retained a significant minority stake and remained the CEO and executive chairwoman of the company. The move was designed to expand Spanx’s global presence as well as diversify its product mix besides supporting Blakely’s charity work.
Another source of Sara Blakely’s net worth is her investment in the Atlanta Hawks basketball team which is based in Atlanta Georgia where she was born. In 2015, she and Jesse Itzler, her husband, a serial entrepreneur as well as a former rapper, bought a part of the team whose price they did not disclose. For example, the Forbes magazine noted that The Hawks are worth $1.85 billion.
Sara Blakely Biography
Blakely was born in Clearwater on February 27th, 1971 to an artist mother and lawyer father. She has one brother called Ford Blakely who also happens to be an entrepreneur with Zingle being his messaging platform for enterprises.
Education
She attended Clearwater High School where she was involved in cheerleading and participated in debates. In 1993, she graduated from Florida State University having earned a communication degree.
| Attribute | Information |
| Name | Sara Blakely |
| Date of Birth | February 27, 1971 |
| Age | 52 Years |
| Birthplace | Clearwater in Florida |
| Gender | Female |
| Marriage Status | Marriage |
| Husband Name | Jesse Itzler |
| Nationality | United States of America |
| Profession | Entrepreneur, Businessperson |
| Sources of Income | Entrepreneur |
| Salary | $50 Million+ |
| Net Worth | $1.2 Billion |
Profession Life of Sara Blakely
After college, Blakely held several jobs including working at Walt Disney World and doing stand-up comedy. At Danka office Supply Company she then served as a salesperson and national sales trainer whereby she sold fax machines by going door to door. This is when the Spanx idea came to her mind since she needed to put on white pants without seeing any panty lines or seams. As she was about to put on her pantyhose, she cut off the feet and realized that she had made a new type of underwear that could smooth and shape body.
It was now up to Sara Blakely to act upon her idea. She started going through fabrics, patents, trademarks until she found a factory in North Carolina that manufactures hosiery willing to produce this product for her. She did not hire an attorney for herself but wrote her own patent application and designed a logo which depicted her as a cartoon with blonde hair and red lips. After all, it was called Spanx because Sara Blakely loved words that ended in “k” and it made people laugh.
Sara Blakey went on to launch Spanx in 2000 with first selling footless panty hose over online channels and catalogues. She also personally sold her product to large department stores such as Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales and Saks Fifth Avenue persuading them into stocking Spanx. There were no advertisements or outside investors but word-of-mouth and grassroots marketing were used instead by Sara who spread the gospel about Spanx. Besides she dispatched samples of spanx to celebrities and stylists with expectation that they would demonstrate their style using these products she has created.
In the year 2000, Oprah Winfrey featured Spanx on her show where she named them one of her favorite things. This resulted in a boom in sales and media focus on Spanx thus making it a household name. Over time, Sara Blakely has grown up the types of products that are made by Spanx to include various kinds of shapewear and apparel for women as well as men as well as partnerships with other brands and celebrities like Lululemon or Sara Jessica Parker or Reese Witherspoon.
Having met at a charity poker game in 2006, Jesse Itzler married Sara Blakely in 2008. They have four children: Lazer (born in 2009), Lincoln (born in 2010), Lou (born in 2013) and Lucky who was born recently (2016). By living here it means they are part of Atlanta, Georgia which is where they live. They engage themselves with different foundations like education, entrepreneurship and women’s empowerment.
She is also known for her many philanthropic endeavors and for being involved in various media/entertainment projects. She established the Sara Blakely Foundation back in 2006 which supports women through education and entrepreneurship. She has given away millions of dollars to such organizations like Dress for Success, CARE and Malala Fund. In 2013, Sara Blakely also joined the Giving Pledge by promising to donate half of her wealth to charitable organizations.
Sara Blakely was seen on several TV shows and podcasts including The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Shark Tank, Billions and How I Built This. She also participated in a reality show called the Rebel Billionaire in 2004 competing with other entrepreneurs for a chance to work with Richard Branson. She came second and received a cash prize of $750,000 which she donated to her foundation. In 2016, she wrote a book titled The Belly Art Project that featured pictures of pregnant women with their bellies painted so as to raise funds for maternal health.
An Interesting Story about Sara Blakely
From his father; she learned how to embrace failure as an opportunity for growth. Although there were many difficulties and rejections in her life, these did not deter her from pursuing her dream of inventing or problem solving. One of them was Spanx which was a new garment that she created by cutting off the feet portion from her pantyhose. For researching patenting and manufacturing this product she used up all her personal savings while fighting against many doubters.
She was also supported by many people including her family, friends, celebrities, and millions of women who were fans of Spanx. She had a powerful vision, tenacity, inventiveness, raptness, sanguinity, liberality, bravery, durability, appreciation and meekness. The youngest self-made female billionaire in history; the founder and owner of a global empire; a role model; a philanthropist—this is who she became. She became Sara Blakely: the inventor and entrepreneur whose Spanx has changed the world.
Sara Blakely Luxury Life and Properties
Sara Blakely is not only a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist, but also a lover of luxury and style. Real estate, travel, and fashion are just some of the things she enjoys spending on her hard-earned money. Here are some examples of her fabulous life and properties.
One of her most impressive properties is her solar-powered Atlanta home, which she renovated and expanded to 10,000 square feet. The house has small hair salon, playroom that looks like it came from a dreamland, gumball machine, zebra print rug and indoor-outdoor feeling. Jesse Itzler who is Sara’s husband and their children (four) live in the same home with her. She also has a beachfront house in Clearwater Florida where she was raised up. In 2011 she purchased the house for $8.8 million.
Sara Blakely also loves travelling as well as discovering new places. Most notably are fifty countries including Morocco, India Australia Thailand among others which she visited personally . With her family or friends or even other entrepreneurs or celebrities; they usually accompany each other in many cases when traveling . Additionally, she often attends different functions around the globe such as World Economic Forum(WEF), Aspen Ideas Festival(AIF) or Skoll World Forum(SWF).
Her Instagram account documents all these trips to over 790k persons.
Conclusion
Sara Blakely is one among many who would continually inspire both men and women especially those who want to be successful in life. Sara Blakely net worth approximately $1.2 billion in 2024. Coming from nothing she managed to build an international conglomerate through her determination passion talent innovation and creativity.
As well as that she generously supports numerous charities which help empower women all over the globe. Her story and advice are what entrepreneurs innovators leaders can learn from about how to make things different than what always has been done. Don’t let what you don’t know scare you because it can become your greatest asset. And if you do things without knowing how they have always been done you’re guaranteed to do them differently.
