Loving Money
Oprah Winfrey Enjoys Being Rich
By Daniel Muniz

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey has done something that perhaps very few Hollywood personalities have ever dared to do in public; although there are plenty of other things that celebrities don’t mind doing openly. Not only has Oprah admitted that she enjoys being rich, but she doesn’t mind flaunting some of her expensive tastes. While talking to a fundraising audience in Baltimore, Oprah said:

“I'm going home to sleep on my Pratesi sheets right now and I'll feel good about it.”

Although Pratesi sounds like the name of a pasta dish, a quick Google search revealed that they are very expensive Italian-made bed sheets; like in the neighborhood of $3,300. There were a few web sites selling the bed covers for half of that price but you get the picture of what she likes to sleep in.

Incidentally, if she is willing that pay that kind of money for some bed covers, I wonder what everything on her own bed must cost.

Oprah obviously doesn’t shop in the same places I do. And somehow I think it has been decades since she has stepped inside a Wal-Mart or has been inside any other discount store although I imagine that there really isn’t very much if anything that she would be willing to buy from there.

She also mentioned:

"I have lots of things, like all these Manolo Blahniks. I have all that and I think it's great… I have a closet full of shoes and it's a good thing.”

Imelda Marcus move over because Oprah Winfrey has you beat. After another quick Google search, I discovered that Manolo Blahniks are shoes with a starting price of around $500 although many of them are going for $2,500 and $3,500. Consequently, I have the impression that Oprah won’t bother with the cheap $500 shoes. Now what are those shoes made of to make them so expensive?

And undoubtedly, all of her footwear in her closet is probably worth more than what most people earn in an entire year. I wonder what she shells out for her underwear?

But what I found most interesting about her revelations is that not only does she love having expensive shoes, she doesn’t mind telling people that she likes to own them. That is perhaps what causes the most consternation in Hollywood circles and among the Liberal elite is her actual defense of her bourgeois tastes and lifestyle. Not that celebrities and rich Liberals live like paupers but rather they keep their insatiable fascination with luxury out of public debate.

Instead, Oprah defiantly insists:

"I'm not one of those people like, 'Well, we must renounce ourselves...”

"I was coming back from Africa on one of my trips… I had taken one of my wealthy friends with me. She said, ‘Don't you just feel guilty? Don't you just feel terrible?' I said, 'No, I don't. I do not know how me being destitute is going to help them.’”

Amongst all the hypocrisy, double-talk, and political correctness in Hollywood, Oprah speaks with stunning clarity and candidness. She doesn’t hide behind the false Liberal elitism that bashes wealth and luxury while partaking in its wiles in lush estates, exotic resorts, and swanky nightclubs.

Oprah has come right out in public to defend her right to enjoy her own wealth and excess.

And like other rich people, she legitimately earned her money. Today Oprah Winfrey is estimated to be worth one billion US dollars. She is a shrewd business woman who made the right financial decisions and worked hard for her fame and fortune. And she didn’t obtain it by any ill-gotten means as poverty warriors often depict.

As a result, Oprah doesn’t feel guilty because of the fruits of her labor. She rejects the hypocrisy of other wealthy people and she has no problem admitting that she enjoys being rich.

Poverty warriors have always tolerated Hollywood celebrities and the Liberal elite as long as they don’t publicly embrace the free market (even though it was free enterprise that made them rich) and denigrate fiscal conservatives. In fact, I have always enjoyed the hypocrisy of rich Liberals. They love to bash Republicans and their so-called greed while living the life of privilege and luxury.

Oprah’s revelation also vindicates a few of her critics because they often claimed that she has been rich far longer than she was ever poor. Some of the “rags to riches” people love to talk about the “rags” while completely avoiding the “riches” that they also enjoy. But there is nothing wrong with being rich and there is nothing to be ashamed of although that is not how the Liberal elite see it.

But it is refreshing to see the candidness and honesty of a Hollywood celebrity. And I hope Oprah continues her openness about her success mostly because she earned it and has the right to enjoy it without shame or guilt.

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