Donation: Oprah Winfrey will give shares worth £5m – to the National Museum of African American History and Culture
Almost £60million was wiped off the value of Weight Watchers as Oprah Winfrey prepares to step down from the board and sell her shares.
The US talk show host, on the board of the lifestyle firm since 2015, will not stand for re-election at its next shareholder meeting in May.
She will instead donate her 10pc stake she owned – around 1.13m shares worth £5million – to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
The stock plunged by almost a quarter, reducing its value by £57million. Winfrey, who will still advise the company, joined almost a decade ago.
Her departure comes as it is struggling to keep pace with a boom in demand for weight-loss drugs made by firms such as Novo Nordisk.
She recently revealed that she used them as a ‘maintenance tool’.
Troy Harmon, chief investment officer at financial services firm Henssler Financial, said Winfrey’s departure is ‘just another piece of evidence in the overall picture that people would much rather take a jab than adjust their lifestyle’.
