Oprah becomes first black woman to join billionaires' club

Oprah Winfrey, television chat show host and media entrepreneur, has become the first black woman to join Forbes magazine's annual list of US billionaires.

Winfrey, who came to prominence in daytime television but has since branched out into an entire brand encompassing cable television and publishing, reached the list in a year when most leading entrepreneurs and investors saw their net worth drop because of the dwindling economy.

Forbes added her name near the bottom of the list of 476 billionaires – down from 497 last year. She joined two years after Robert Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television, was deemed to be the first black American man to make the club.

Winfrey's empire spans a variety of brand names, including the women's cable channel Oxygen and O: The Oprah Magazine. She also has a book club with an extraordinary capacity to turn difficult and literary books into best-sellers.

Topping the Forbes list, as usual, was Microsoft's founder, Bill Gates, although the magazine found that his net worth had diminished by 23 per cent last year to $40.7bn (£25bn).

In second place was the investor and management guru Warren Buffett. He lost 13 per cent of his wealth in 2002, but still had $30.5bn to his name.