Oprah Winfrey has made headlines for giving grandiose gifts to everyone from average audience members to those in dire straits. Now she’s trying to spread the joy of giving to everyday people with Oprah’s Big Give, whereby contestants compete for the title of The Biggest Giver.
However, unbeknownst to the winner, she will reward them with $1 million. But how will they spend it? In true Oprah fashion, we’re guessing most of that will go to charity. To celebrate the show and its Feb. 29 kick-off party, the following are some of Oprah’s most charitable moments.
1. Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls
Oprah had made a promise to Nelson Mandela to develop the academy six years prior to its New Year’s Eve 2007 unveiling. The all-girls school in Johannesburg, South Africa put her back $40 million, but it’s nothing the billionaire can’t afford.
2. Katrina efforts
O Philanthropy pooled Oprah’s Angel Network funds into Hurricane Katrina and Rita relief efforts beginning in 2005. Within two years, $15.6 million had been donated to build and restore 300 homes across Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama. For the show’s 20th season première, Oprah donated $10 million out of pocket to assist hurricane victims and teamed up with Habitat for Humanity for one of her biggest gives to date.
3. Pontiac G6s
In the show’s 19th season première, Oprah gave away Pontiac G6 vehicles to 276 audience members, who just happened to be teachers. After being told to unwrap the boxes underneath every audience seat – only one of which was said to contain keys to a brand new car – a feeding frenzy broke out when each box was revealed to contain its own set of keys. While Oprah didn’t exactly shell out the funds to make the giveaway happen, this 2004 episode will fondly be remembered by anyone who scores a couple of tickets to a studio taping. General Motors spent more than $8 million in giving the cars away.
4. $1,000 Debit Cards
She claims every gift she’s ever given has brought her as much joy as it has to the recipient. So what better gift to give than the gift of giving? The concept for the Big Give began in 2006, when Oprah had what she called her Favorite Giveaway Ever, handing out $1,000 debit cards to more than 300 audience members. There was a catch: those given cards weren’t the final recipients of the cash prize – that money had to be given away to an individual or organization of their choice.
5. The Oprah Winfrey Boys and Girls Club
Lady O invested nearly $5 million for a Boys and Girls Club in her former hometown of Kosciusko, Miss. After five years of development, the brand new 32,000 square-foot building opened in 2006, providing a hub for more than 350 kids aged five to 18. The centre is home to music and arts centres, a gym, a library, computer labs and a garden.
6. Oprah’s Favorite Things 2005
Only a few months after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Oprah aired a historical episode of her annual Favorite Things. While this isn’t the only time audience members were hand-selected to receive the lottery of studio taping tickets, this year was extra special. Hurricane relief volunteers made up the entire audience, receiving a load of high-end gifts like the iPod, Sony VIAO notebook, Blackberry, UGGS, a diamond watch and Burberry apparel.
7. ChristmasKindness
Leading up to the construction of the Leadership Academy in 2002, Oprah teamed up with Nelson Mandela to bring Christmas gifts to thousands of orphans and children living in South Africa. Despite her decision not to have kids of her own, the children became so special to the big giver, she considers them her own. Oprah even plans to adopt three girls, as shown by her will drawn up earlier this year.
8. Oprah’s Closet Charity Auction
Oprah is so benevolent, she would give the shirt off her back to someone in need – and she has, literally. In November 2004, Oprah’s Closet Charity auction saw designer brands, including Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, Valentino and Donna Karan being auctioned off on eBay to raise funds for the Angel Network, with 100 per cent of the proceeds going directly to the charity.
9. Operation Dream House
In the 2005 season, the Wildest Dreams bus began making dreams come true for deserving people one step at a time. The most recent dream to be brought to fruition was when Big Give co-hosts Oprah and Nate Berkus built a dream house for the Hale-Jos, a family of six living in a 1,400 square-foot home. Within 15 days the team almost doubled the living space for the family after tearing it down to its studs and practically rebuilding the home from scratch.
10. Oprah’s Favorite Things 2007
The annual episode is such a hot ticket, producers have to keep the date of air under wraps. This year, the show was shot an entire month before Christmas in its most-watched city of Macon, Ga., under the guise of an American hometowns special. In total, Oprah gave away $2.1 million worth of gifts in refrigerators, high definition TVs, camcorders, watches, cosmetics, and of course, signature UGGS.
Oprah’s Big Give premières March 2 at 9:00 p.m. ET on CTV/ABC. Want more Oprah? Find out more about Oprah's Big Give.
