Oprah Winfrey, Billionaire, Sets Up Personal Investment Operation

Zeke Turner — Wed, 19 May 2010 13:41:09 -0400

As Oprah Winfrey moves into the next phase of her career with the launch of the Oprah Winfrey Network, which debuts at the beginning of next year, she is taking her net worth—some $2.4 billion—and investments more seriously.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Ms. Winfrey has hired Peter Adamson to manage her billions.

Mr. Adamson pioneered the concept of family-office investment systems for billionaires, according to The Journal, and has worked most recently as chief investment officer for Eli Broad, beating relevant indices by 3 to 4 percent with his returns. He also has experience overseeing the financing of media deals.

Under Mr. Adamson's direction, the Broad family office has practiced an investment style pioneered by Yale University and its chief investment officer David Swensen, de-emphasizing stocks and bonds while embracing less-traditional fare like hedge funds, private equity and distressed debt. Mr. Adamson also oversaw Mr. Broad's direct investments, including a failed bid in 2007 to buy Tribune Co., the newspaper chain that collapsed a year later.

Ms. Winfrey has kept her financials private in the past, but the hire of Mr. Adamson suggests that for the first time she is setting up a full-scale investment team to handle her fortune.

Observer » Oprah Winfrey, Billionaire, Sets Up Personal Investment Operation

Oprah Winfrey, Billionaire, Sets Up Personal Investment Operation