Suze Orman

She stayed at the Bakery and dreamt of opening her own restaurant. A sympathetic customer loaned Orman $50,000 to help her start her own business and Orman invested the money with the brokerage firm in order to start the process. Within three months the broker with whom Suze Orman had opened her account had lost all her assets in a falling market and Orman was once again broke. She needed to pay off the loan but knew it was impossible with her job at the Bakery.

Convinced she could work as a stock broker, Suze Orman applied for a job at Merrill Lynch. Although her supervisor was reluctant to hire her, she got the job and began studying finances. She left the firm in 1983 and took the position of Vice President of Investments at Prudential Bache Securities. Four years later Suze Orman opened her own firm, the Suze Orman Financial Group. She acted as Director of the firm until 1997 when she decided to focus more on her writing and speaking career.

Her most notable books include The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom, The Courage to Be Rich, and The Road to Wealth. After her publishing success, Orman began hosting a weekly television show on CNBC titled The Suze Orman Show and another on QVC titled Suze Orman's Financial Freedom.

A two-time Emmy Award-winning television host, New York Times bestselling author, columnist, writer/producer and one of the top motivational speakers in the world, Suze Orman is undeniably America's most recognized expert on personal finance. She has been called "a force in the world of personal finance" and a "one-woman financial advice powerhouse" by USA Today.