Susan Lynn "Suze" Orman ( ; born June 5, 1951) is an American

financial advisor A financial adviser or financial advisor is a professional who provides financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries, financial advisors must complete specific training and be registered with a regulatory ...

, author, and podcast host. In 1987, she founded the Suze Orman Financial Group. Her work as a financial advisor gained notability with ''The Suze Orman Show'', which ran on

CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...

from 2002 to 2015. Orman has written ten consecutive ''New York Times'' bestsellers about personal finance. She was named twice to the

Time 100 ''Time'' 100 (often stylized as ''TIME'' 100) is an annual listicle of the 100 most influential people in the world, assembled by the American news magazine ''Time''. First published in 1999 as the result of a debate among American academics, ...

list of influential people, has won two Emmy Awards, and eight

Gracie Award The Gracie Awards are awards presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWM) in the United States, to celebrate and honor programming created for women, by women, and about women, as well as individuals who have made exemplary contr ...

s. Orman has written, co-produced and hosted 9 PBS specials, and has appeared on multiple additional television shows. She has been a guest on ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced ...

'' approximately 29 times and ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles ...

'' over 30 times''.'' Orman is currently the podcast host of the "Suze Orman Women & Money Podcast."''About Suze Orman
" SuzeOrman.com. Retrieved 24 February 2019.''

Early life and education

Orman was born on the

South Side of Chicago The South Side is an area of Chicago, Illinois, U.S. It lies south of the city's Loop area in the downtown. Geographically, it is the largest of the three sides of the city that radiate from downtown, with the other two being the north and w ...

on June 5, 1951, to

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

parents of Russian and Romanian origin, Ann and Morry Orman. Her mother worked as a secretary for a local rabbi, while her father, an immigrant from

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

, worked in a chicken factory and managed Morry's Deli in Hyde Park. She attended the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, where she earned a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in social work in 1976. In 2009, Orman received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

of humane letters from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. The following year, in 2010, she was presented with an honorary doctorate of Commercial Science from

Bentley University Bentley University is a private university focused on business, accountancy, and finance and located in Waltham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1917 as a school of accounting and finance in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, Bentley moved to Waltham ...

Career

After finishing school, Orman moved to

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

, where she worked as a waitress. In 1980, she borrowed $52,000 from friends to open a restaurant. According to Orman, as an investment novice, she invested that money through a representative at Merrill Lynch, who promptly lost her entire investment in trading options. Later, Orman trained as an account executive for Merrill Lynch, where she reports that she learned that the type of investment her broker had put her in was not suitable for her needs, as option trading is considered a high-risk but high-reward investment suitable only for high net worth individuals. Orman further asserts that it was explained to her that because her broker was the highest producing representative in the office, his actions went unchecked. After completing her training with Merrill Lynch, she remained at the firm until 1983, when she left to become a vice president of investments at

Prudential Bache Securities Prudential Securities, also formerly known as Prudential Securities Incorporated (PSI), was the financial services arm of the insurer, Prudential Financial. In 2003, Prudential Securities was merged into Wachovia Securities, a division of Wachov ...

. In 1987, Orman resigned from Prudential and founded the Suze Orman Financial Group, in

Emeryville, California Emeryville is a city located in northwest Alameda County, California, in the United States. It lies in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, with a border on the shore of San Francisco Bay. The resident population was 12,905 ...

. While there, she published a booklet, ''The Facts on Single Premium Whole Life'', which compared single-premium whole life, universal life, and single-premium deferred annuities; she distributed copies of the booklet for free to anyone who requested one. She was director of the firm until 1997. Orman published ten original books between 1995 and 2020: ''You've Earned It Don't Lose It'' (1995), ''The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom'' (1997), ''The Courage to be Rich'' (1999), ''The Road to Wealth'' (2001), ''The Laws of Money, The Lessons of Life'' (2003), ''The Money Book for the Young Fabulous and Broke'' (2005), ''Women & Money'' (2007), ''The 2009 Action Plan'' (2009), ''The Money Class'' (2011), ''The Adventures of Billy & Penny'' (2017, children's book). Orman also published three updated versions of her bestselling books: ''Suze Orman's Action Plan: New Rules for New Times'' (March 2010), ''The Money Class: How to Stand in Your Truth and Create the Future You Deserve'' (2012), ''Women & Money: Be Smart Strong and Secure'' (Sept 2018), ''The Ultimate Retirement Guide for 50+'' (2020). ''The Suze Orman Show'' began airing on

in 2002. In February 2008, Orman gave away copies of her book ''Women and Money'' for free following an appearance on ''

'', generating almost two million downloads. 2008–2010, she was portrayed on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' by

Kristen Wiig Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Canandaigua, New York, she was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, New York. She moved to Los Angeles, where she jo ...

. Orman has been featured on the

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ( ...

's ''

Paula's Party ''Paula's Party'' is a show on the Food Network hosted by Paula Deen. Unlike her other show on the Food Network, '' Paula's Home Cooking, Paula's Party'' was originally taped in front of a small audience at Uncle Bubba's Oyster House in Savannah ...

''. In January 2011, Orman appeared on ''Oprah's Allstars''. In January 2012, Orman's six-episode TV series ''America's Money Class with Suze Orman'' premiered on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. For this show, Orman answered questions about money management. ''Money Class'' lasted six episodes. Orman wrote a financial advice column for ''

O, The Oprah Magazine ''O, The Oprah Magazine'', also known simply as ''O'', is an American monthly magazine founded by talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Communications. Overview It was first published on April 19, 2000. , its average paid circulation was ...

''. She is the former author of

Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Manage ...

's "Money Matters" and writes for the ''

Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (Trade name, doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only Big-box store, big-box retail stores (warehouse c ...

Connection Magazine''. She contributed to ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'', ''Lowes MoneyWorks'', and ''Your Business at Home Magazine''.Orman, Suze
Moving Past Fear and Toward Success"
, ''Your Business at Home Magazine'', Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2008, pg. 36. Orman's final episode of ''The Suze Orman Show'' aired on March 28, 2015, reportedly so that Orman could develop a new series, ''Suze Orman's Money Wars'', for Warner Bros.

Telepictures Productions Telepictures (also known as Telepictures Productions; formerly known as Telepictures Distribution and Telepictures Corporation) is an American television show and filmmaking company, currently operating as a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Television S ...

. Orman hoped the show would premiere in 2016 but it was not produced. In 2016, Orman was appointed as a personal finance educator for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

and

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

. In 2018, Suze began serving as a Special Advocate for the

National Domestic Violence Hotline The National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) is a 24-hour confidential service for survivors, victims and those affected by domestic violence, intimate partner violence and relationship abuse. Advocates are available at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) a ...

, to help spread awareness regarding financial abuse. Suze is currently the

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

host of the twice-weekly Suze Orman Women & Money Podcast. In 2020 Suze co founded Securesave a company whose soul purpose is to change the savings rate in America by providing employer match emergency savings plans for employees

Personal life

In February 2007, Orman stated that she is a lesbian. Orman has been married to Kathy Travis (nicknamed KT) since 2010. Travis is also her business partner. According to Orman, "KT’s career has been building brands, and I’m a brand." In 2008, Orman donated money to the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. In a 2008 interview with

Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys, an Emmy and 10 Cable ACE Awards. Over his career, he hosted over 50,000 interviews. ...

, she said she favors the policies of the

and

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

, especially regarding people in same-sex relationships.

Controversies

In 2012, Orman introduced the Approved

prepaid debit card A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The term '' plastic card'' includes the above and as an identity document. These are similar to a credit card, but u ...

, which was backed by Bancorp Bank. The card generated a great deal of controversy for its hidden fees and false promise of contributing to a FICO score. Cardholders were charged a $3 monthly fee, as well as fees for check writing and customer service calls. The Approved card's features included

credit report :''This article deals with the general concept of the term credit history. For detailed information about the same topic in the United States, see Credit score in the United States.'' A credit history is a record of a borrower's responsible repa ...

s and credit scores from

TransUnion TransUnion is an American consumer credit reporting agency. TransUnion collects and aggregates information on over one billion individual consumers in over thirty countries including "200 million files profiling nearly every credit-active consume ...

, as well as credit monitoring and

identity theft Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The term ''identity theft'' was c ...

protection.

also agreed to "examine data from Approved cards", which was unusual for prepaid debit cards, but did not factor the card's usage into the cardholders'

FICO score A credit score is a number that provides a comparative estimate of an individual's creditworthiness based on an analysis of their credit report. It is an inexpensive and main alternative to other forms of consumer loan underwriting. Lenders, s ...

s. In July 2014, the Approved card was discontinued. Orman has also received criticism for making misleading statements relating to her credentials and achievements, notably her time teaching at the controversial for-profit

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree level ...

Bibliography

Books

*''You've Earned It, Don't Lose It: Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make When You Retire'' (with Linda Mead) (1995) *''The Nine Steps To Financial Freedom: Practical and Spiritual Steps So You Can Stop Worrying'' (1997) *''The Courage to Be Rich: Creating a Life of Material and Spiritual Abundance'' (1999) *''The Road to Wealth: Everything You Need to Know in Good and Bad Times'' (2001) *''The Laws of Money, the Lessons of Life'' (2003) *''The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke'' (2005) *''Women and Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny'' (2007) **Revised and updated: ''Women & Money: Be Smart Strong and Secure'' (Sept 2018) *''Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan: Keeping Your Money Safe and Sound'' (2009) **Revised and updated: ''Suze Orman's Action Plan: New Rules for New Times'' (March 2010) *''The Money Class: Learn to Create Your New American Dream'' (March 2011) **Revised and updated: ''The Money Class: How to Stand in Your Truth and Create the Future You Deserve'' (2012) * ''The Adventures of Billy & Penny'' (Jan 2017) (''Children's Book'' ''Illustrated by wife, KT'') * ''The Ultimate Retirement Guide for 50+: Winning Strategies to Make your Money Last a Lifetime (Feb 2020)''

Multimedia

Orman is also creator of a number of non-book products, primarily CD-ROM-based services that offer education and various financial services usually in conjunction with her books and writings. *''Suze Ormans FICO Kit'' – First offered in 2002 in conjunction with

Fair Isaac FICO (legal name: Fair Isaac Corporation), originally Fair, Isaac and Company, is a data analytics company based in Bozeman, Montana, focused on credit scoring services. It was founded by Bill Fair and Earl Isaac in 1956. Its FICO score, a me ...

Corporation. *''Suze Orman's Will & Trust Kit'' – Introduced in 2005 with her personal trust attorney. *''Suze Orman's Insurance Kit'' – Introduced in 2007. *''Suze Orman's Protection Portfolio'' – First introduced in 2002, in third version. *''Suze Orman's Identity Theft Kit'' – First offered in 2008, in conjunction with TrustedID. *''Suze Orman's Save Yourself Retirement Program'' – Introduced September 2009, in conjunction with TD Ameritrade.

References

External links

* * * * *
Interview with Suze Orman
by Eileen Cavanagh, ''A DISCUSSION WITH National Authors on Tour'' TV Series, Episode #151 (1995) {{DEFAULTSORT:Orman, Suze 1951 births Living people 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American Jews American consulting businesspeople American finance and investment writers American financial commentators American investment advisors American lesbian writers American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent American restaurateurs American self-help writers American television hosts American television writers American women non-fiction writers American women television presenters American women television writers Businesspeople from Chicago CNBC people Daytime Emmy Award winners Illinois Democrats Jewish American writers Jewish women writers American LGBT broadcasters American LGBT businesspeople LGBT Jews LGBT people from Illinois Merrill (company) people Personal finance education Screenwriters from Illinois Shorty Award winners University of Illinois School of Social Work alumni Writers from Chicago Women business and financial journalists Women restaurateurs