Suze Orman

Susan Lynn “Suze” Orman was born on June 5, 1951, on the South Side of Chicago, to Jewish parents of Russian and Romanian origin. Her mother, Ann, worked as a secretary for a local rabbi, and her father, Morry, an immigrant from Kiev, worked in a chicken factory and managed Morry’s Deli in Hyde Park. Orman studied at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, earning a B.A. in social work in 1976. Years later, the university awarded her an honorary doctorate of humane letters, and Bentley University presented her with an honorary doctorate of Commercial Science.

After college, Orman moved to Berkeley, California, and worked as a waitress. In 1980, she borrowed $52,000 from friends to open a restaurant. According to Orman, she invested the money through a representative at Merrill Lynch, and the entire investment was lost in options trading. She later trained as an account executive at Merrill Lynch and has said she learned there that the type of investment used for her money was not suitable for her needs. That experience placed risk, trust, and financial literacy at the center of her later public work.

Orman remained at Merrill Lynch until 1983, then left to become a vice president of investments at Prudential Bache Securities. In 1987, she resigned from Prudential and founded the Suze Orman Financial Group in Emeryville, California, serving as director until 1997. While there, she published and freely distributed a booklet, The Facts on Single Premium Whole Life, comparing single-premium whole life, universal life, and single-premium deferred annuities. Her work grew from private advising into books, television, public appearances, columns, and later podcasting.

Between 1995 and 2020, Orman published ten original books, including You’ve Earned It Don’t Lose It, The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom, The Courage to be Rich, The Money Book for the Young Fabulous and Broke, Women & Money, and The Ultimate Retirement Guide for 50+. She wrote ten consecutive New York Times bestsellers about personal finance. Her best-known television platform, The Suze Orman Show, aired on CNBC from 2002 to 2015. She also wrote, co-produced, and hosted nine PBS specials, appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show approximately 29 times, and appeared on Larry King Live more than 30 times.

Her public career also included honors and criticism. Orman was named twice to the Time 100 list of influential people, won two Emmy Awards and eight Gracie Awards, and in 2016 was appointed as a personal finance educator for the United States Army and Army Reserve. In 2018, she began serving as a Special Advocate for the National Domestic Violence Hotline to help spread awareness of financial abuse. She introduced the Approved prepaid debit card in 2012, which drew controversy over fees and claims connected to FICO scores; the card was discontinued in 2014. Orman has also received criticism for misleading statements related to credentials and achievements.

Orman stated in 2007 that she is a lesbian, and she has been married to Kathy Travis, also her business partner, since 2010. In 2020, she became a cofounder of SecureSave, a fintech company later acquired by HSA Bank in 2025. She hosts the twice-weekly Suze Orman’s Women & Money Podcast. Her plain message still fits the work she has done for decades: “Take your financial life seriously. Money is a defense against a lot of challenges.”