Suze Orman

Financial Expert

Suze Orman is a financial expert, author, motivational speaker and television host. She is the most celebrated personal finance advisor in America and has written six consecutive books on the New York Times best-seller list.

Born and raised in Chicago, Orman had a speech impediment as a child. She was belittled in school and suffered from low self-esteem.

To her surprise, she was accepted to the University of Illinois. She majored in social work after a counselor advised her that it was the easiest course of study. After college, Orman bought a van. Ultimately, she ended up in Berkeley, California.

Orman waited tables for six years before a customer loaned her $50,000 to open her own restaurant. She invested the money with Merrill Lynch. Less than six months later, she was broke, having been scammed by a stockbroker.

Orman enrolled in a Merrill Lynch account executive training program to earn back her money. After learning that what her broker did was illegal, she sued Merrill Lynch. She won back her money with interest, and repaid the restaurant customer who made her the loan. Soon after, another company hired Orman as vice president of investments. 

In 1987, Orman started her own firm, the Suze Orman Financial Group. In 1997, she left to pursue a career as a writer.

The author of seven books, Orman contributes to major publications and has created top-selling computer programs for personal finance and money management. She hosts CNBC’s “The Suze Orman Show” and QVC’s “Suze Orman’s Financial Freedom.”  

Orman has won two Daytime Emmy Awards and a record five Gracie Awards for outstanding women in radio and television. Time magazine ranked her among the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2008 and 2009. In 2009, she received GLAAD’s Vito Russo Media Award.  

Orman lives with her partner, Kathy Travis.