The importance of Oprah Winfrey to Weight Watchers was evident in the market reaction to the announcement that she is stepping down from the board.
Thilo Semmelbauer, chairman of WW International, the trading name for Weight Watchers, said the company will “dearly miss her presence on the board”, as the group’s shares fell by 18.2 per cent, or 0.69 cents, to close at $3.12 in New York last night, valuing it at $247 million.
The talk show host has been on the board of WW for more than eight years and will not stand for re-election at the annual general meeting in May.
Winfrey, 70, will donate her shares in the company to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the US to “eliminate any perceived conflict of interest around her taking weight loss drugs”. She will still work as an adviser to the company and Sima Sistani, its chief executive.
She said: “Weight health is a critically important topic and one that needs to be addressed at a broader scale. I have been a long-time supporter of this worthy organisation, and I am proud to continue my support.”
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The media mogul is one of the biggest shareholders in WW International, which was founded in Queens, New York, in 1963, and originally had a 10 per cent stake although this has been reduced.
She bought her stake for about $43 million when she joined the board in 2015, but it is now worth about $6.34 million as the company struggles with a shift towards weight-loss drugs.
Winfrey, who has an estimated fortune of $2.8 billion, according to Forbes, revealed recently that she uses medication to maintain her weight and saw the products as an effective tool to help manage obesity. She added that drugs were only one part of her regime for staying healthy, alongside exercise.
Speaking to People magazine, Winfrey said: “I eat my last meal at 4 o’clock, drink a gallon of water a day, and use the Weight Watchers principles of counting points. I had an awareness of [weight-loss] medications, but felt I had to prove I had the willpower to do it. I now no longer feel that way.
“The fact that there’s a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift.”
