Sara Treleaven Blakely, better known as Sara Blakely, is an American philanthropist and entrepreneur. Blakely is the creator of Spanx, a women’s underwear firm based in Atlanta, Georgia.
worked as a fax machine saleswoman and put together $5000 to start her own business. She founded her business and eventually became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire. In 2021, she sold the bulk of her Spanx stock to Blackstone.
Sara Blakely’s Bio
Sara Blakely was born on February 27, 1971, in New York City. Sara Treleaven Blakely is her given name. Her hometown is Clearwater, Florida in the United States, where she was born. She is a citizen of the United States. Her father, John Blakely, and mother, Ellen Ford, gave birth to her. Ford Blakely, her only sibling, is her only sibling. She is a conversion to Judaism and is of Caucasian ethnicity. Pisces is her zodiac sign.
She graduated from Clearwater High School and has a bachelor’s degree. She went to Florida State University after graduating from high school. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communication from the university.
Sara Blakely’s Professional Life
Sara Blakely had intended to pursue a career as an attorney. However, she did not pursue a legal profession after receiving a poor score on the Law School Admission Test. She then spent three months in Walt Disney World in Florida. She then went door-to-door for Danka, a supply firm, selling fax machines. At the age of 25, she was promoted to national sales trainer. At the age of 27, she moved to Atlanta, Georgia. She kept working for Danka and was able to save $5,000. At the time, she was studying and creating her hosiery concept. After that, she traveled to North Carolina to pitch her concept to hosiery manufacturers. She was turned down by every firm she went to. Blakely received a call from a male mill operator in Asheboro, North Carolina, who endorsed her idea. She ultimately produced the first prototype of the product. She went back to a patent attorney to finish her application before submitting it to the US Patent and Trademark Office.
For a fee of $750, the man promised to help her. She next went to work on her product’s packaging. She paid $150 for the “Spanx” trademark on the USPTO website using her credit card. Her product was offered in seven Neiman Marcus locations after she spoke with personnel from the Neiman Marcus Group. She had changed into the merchandise in the ladies’ bathroom to demonstrate the advantages of her creation. She also delivered a basket of goodies to Oprah Winfrey’s television show, along with a gift card explaining what she was working on. Spanx gained popularity and sales when Oprah Winfrey named them one of her “Favorite Things” in November 2000.
Blakely stepped down from Danka. In its first year, Spanx made $4 million in sales. In its second year, it raised $10 million. In 2001, she joined with QVC, a home shopping channel. She aspired to create the most comfortable high-heeled shoe in the world. In 2005, she came in second place on The Rebel Billionaire, when she met Richard Branson. Richard served as a role model for her. She was a judge on ABC’s reality show American Inventor as one of the judges. In seasons 9 and 10, she appeared as a guest investor on multiple episodes of Shark Tank. In the third season of Billions, she had a quick guest appearance in an episode. In October 2021, she sold a controlling share in Spanx to Blackstone. She offered everyone of her staff $10,000 to spend on their vacations as part of the celebration.
Sara Blakely’s Husband
Sara Blakely is a married lady with two children. Jesse Itzler is her husband. Marquis Jet was co-founded by him. They met at a Net Jet Poker Tournament and began dating after that. In 2008, the pair married. Olivia Newton-John performed a surprise performance at her wedding, which was attended by Matt Damon. Together, the couple has four children. In 2006, she established the Sara Blakely Foundation. She established the charity to assist women via education and business training. To launch the Foundation, Richard Branson gave her $750,000. Scholarships for young women at the Community and Individual Development Association City Campus in South Africa were financed by the foundation. In 2006, she appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and gave a $1 million donation to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. In 2019, she bought $162,500 at an auction for Olivia Newton-black John’s leggings from Grease. Newton-cancer John’s treatment clinic in Melbourne, Australia, profited from the revenues. During the coronavirus epidemic in 2020, she promised to provide $5 million to promote female-run small enterprises.
Sara Blakely’s height
Sara Blakely is about 1.71 m tall, or 5 feet and 7 inches tall. She weighs roughly 132 pounds, or 60 kilograms. She has a slender physique. Her hazel eyes are hazel, and her blonde hair is blonde. Her sexual orientation is that of a heterosexual woman.
Sara Blakely’s net worth
Sara Blakely is a multibillionaire who built her fortune on her own. Spanx, her intimate clothing brand, is where she earned her money. She is one of the world’s most successful businesswomen. Sara and her husband own Atlanta Hawks tickets. Her current net worth is believed to be $1.2 billion.
What If I Told You…
Her father is a lawyer, while her mother is a painter. At Florida State University, she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority. She had intended to pursue a career as a lawyer. In her early years, she worked as a stand-up comedian on the side. Blakely was featured on the cover of Forbes in 2012 for being the world’s youngest self-made female millionaire. She is the 93rd most powerful woman in the world, according to Forbes. She is the first woman to take the “Giving Pledge.”