What is Sara Blakely's Net Worth?
Sara Blakely is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, best known as the founder of the highly successful shapewear brand, Spanx. Her net worth is $1 billion. In October 2021, Sara sold a majority stake in Spanx to private equity firm Blackstone, valuing the company at $1.2 billion. She retains a minority stake and oversees the company's operations. Jesse Itzler, her husband, is the founder of Marquis Jets, and together they are members of The Giving Pledge and minority owners of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks.
Early Life
Sara Treleaven Blakely was born on February 27, 1971, in Clearwater, Florida. Her father, John, is an attorney, and her mother, Ellen, is an artist. She has one brother, Ford, who is also an artist. Blakely graduated from Clearwater High School in 1989 and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in communications from Florida State University in 1993. While at FSU, she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority. Initially aiming to become a lawyer like her father, she reconsidered after receiving low LSAT scores. Instead, Sara worked briefly at Walt Disney World and tried her hand at stand-up comedy before turning to entrepreneurship.
Career
After a brief stint at Disney World, Sara took a job selling fax machines door-to-door for an office supply company. She excelled in this role and was promoted to national sales trainer by the age of 25. The job required her to dress professionally, which included wearing pantyhose—an uncomfortable experience in Florida's heat. Sara liked the slimming effect of pantyhose but was frustrated by their look with open-toed shoes. She then cut the feet off her pantyhose, encountering issues with rolling. This experience led her to conceive Spanx.
At 27, Sara moved to Atlanta and spent two years working on her product idea, investing $5,000 of her savings. She visited hosiery mills in North Carolina but faced initial rejections. A local manufacturer eventually agreed to produce her prototype after consulting his daughters, who found Sara's idea brilliant. It took a year to finalize the first Spanx prototype. Sara then secured a patent and worked on branding before securing a meeting with a Neiman Marcus buyer. A practical demonstration during the meeting secured an order of 7,000 pieces, placing Spanx in seven stores. Soon, major retailers like Saks, Bergdorf Goodman, and Bloomingdale's also began to carry Spanx products.
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Sara insisted that Spanx be sold in the shoe department, differentiating it from other hosiery products. She also sent a basket of Spanx to Oprah Winfrey's show, sharing her journey. In November 2000, Oprah named Spanx a "Favorite Thing," boosting the product's visibility and sales. Within the first year, Spanx sold $4 million worth of products, growing to $10 million in the second year. In 2001, Sara secured a deal with QVC, selling 8,000 pairs of Spanx within six minutes on the shopping channel. Remarkably, Sara and Spanx never spent on advertising, leveraging word-of-mouth and savvy public relations to drive growth. As competitors began to imitate her product, Sara entered a partnership with Target in 2007 to offer a lower-cost line, 'Assets by Sara Blakely.' By 2017, Spanx's annual sales were estimated at $400 million. Sara still owns 100% of the private company and has never sought outside investment.
Personal Life
In 2008, Sara married Jesse Itzler, the co-founder of Marquis Jet, in Boca Grande, Florida. The couple met at a Net Jet Poker Tournament and married after a year of dating. They have four children. In 2005, Sara was a contestant on "The Rebel Billionaire," finishing second and receiving $750,000 from Richard Branson to start her foundation. She launched the Sara Blakely Foundation in 2006, which focuses on empowering women through education and entrepreneurial training. Sara joined The Giving Pledge in 2013 and has appeared as a guest judge on ABC's "Shark Tank." In 2015, Sara and Jesse became part of the group that bought the NBA's Atlanta Hawks for $850 million. In 2019, she purchased Olivia Newton-John's iconic black pants from "Grease" for $162,500, benefiting Newton-John's cancer treatment center in Melbourne, Australia.
Real Estate
In 2008, Sara bought a three-bedroom, 3,093-square-foot condo in Manhattan at 15 Central Park West for $12.11 million, selling it in 2014 for $30 million.
