On Monday, October 19, Oprah Winfrey bought stocks for $43 million in the weight loss company Weight Watchers. This approach turned out to be a success for both Winfrey and WW as this caused the Weight Watchers’ stock to double in just one day.
Owning 10% of the company, Oprah is now one of the largest shareholders of Weight Watchers, and besides this, she has been a loyal member of the program for years.
On Friday, October 16, the stock was at $6.79 and increased to $13.92 Monday afternoon after the media mogul bought her shares the same morning. This massive, rapid increase in the stock made Oprah $71.6 million in one day!
“I believe in the program so much I decided to invest in the company and partner in its evolution,” Winfrey said in a statement. The company has been fading the past years since other help programs and weight loss aids have been booming. The investment Oprah made in the company is estimated to reinvigorate Weight Watchers according to investors of the firm.
The strategy to have a member and very powerful public person as Oprah involved in the company has been more than beneficial for both parties. But the two partners are not the only ones making massive amounts in no time. A private investment firm Artal owns half of the Weight Watchers’ stock or 29.4 million shares. This makes Artal’s total gain for Monday a whopping $209.9 million.
