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TagsBY ANGELA DAIDONE
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
She hated wearing panty hose and was just not gonna take it anymore!
So Sara Blakely cut the feet off her stockings and wore them underneath her clothing to achieve a smooth seamless look that was comfortable, too. After a few design tweaks, Spanx figure-flattering undergarments were born.
That creativity and an initial $5,000 start-up investment has parlayed into a highly successful business, earning Blakely, 41, a spot on the Forbes' billionaires list for 2012, according to reports. She is listed as the world's youngest self-made female billionaire.
The Spanx brand, which offers more than 200 products and is featured in more than 11,500 deaprtment stores and boutiques in 40 countries, got a jump start in 2000 when Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue placed orders. Later, Oprah Winfrey gave the products a ringing endorsement and placed them on her annual "favorite things" list.
Forbes magazine released its annual list of billionaires earlier this week, reporting that a record 1,226 people worldwide have a net worth in the ten digits, a 1 percent increase from last year's total.
The group's total combined net worth is up 2 percent at $4.6 trillion. The average worth of a list member is $3.7 billion.
