Oprah Winfrey Net Worth, Junot Diaz Speaks, Billie Razor Ad…

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Junot Díaz speaks out, we have a new hair hero, and Oprah Winfrey shows Wall Street—and us—how it’s done. Have a terrific Tuesday and a festive Fourth of July! We’ll see you again on Thursday.

EVERYONE'S TALKING

• Winfrey's windfall. T he Broadsheet recently covered how Oprah Winfrey's net worth has skyrocketed thanks to her investment in Weight Watchers. To recap: the TV maven and new British Vogue covergirl spent $43 million on the stock in October 2015. Since then the share price has ballooned from $7 to a record $101—some 1,400%.

The increase has added $427 million to Winfrey's $4 billion fortune in mid-June, an uptick that recently made her the first black female entrepreneur to land on Bloomberg's Billionaire index.

But there's more to this story than a billionaire lining her pockets many, many times over, argues the Financial Times' Maike Currie. Winfrey is one of the few female investors showing Wall Street how it's done.

Research has found that women are more risk-adverse than men; they tend to think of their money as their families', not their own, turning them off to the possibility of losing some of it. Women sometimes shy away from investment, Currie writes, because they feel they lack specialist knowledge. These factors can leave women at a disadvantage when it comes to generating wealth and saving for retirement.

Then we have Oprah.

She took Warren Buffett's sound investment advice—"Only invest in businesses you understand"—to heart, buying Weight Watchers' shares after reportedly trying the diet company's new food plan herself. She then backed the company with her own personal brand by joining its board, an approach reminiscent of traditional activist investors.

With Wall Street populated by famous male investors—and few female counterparts—Winfrey's success should be a powerful beacon, Currie argues. "To unlock the financial power of women, we need to address the personal, professional and policy barriers that stop women from investing," she writes. "If we are to increase the numbers of female investors, not to mention female investment professionals, we should remember: if you can see it, you can be it." Financial Times

A special note: Telling the stories of companies and business leaders that do well by doing good—that address social problems as part of their profit-making activity—is a central part of Coins2Day’s editorial mission. Later this summer, we’ll feature more than 50 such companies in our 4th annual Change The World list, with extensive coverage in our September 1 magazine issue and online. To learn more about the list, and to nominate your company or a company you admire, visit our Change The World information page.

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

• Harvey hits keep coming. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance on Monday announced the indictment of Harvey Weinstein on three additional felony charges of sexual misconduct—two of them carry a life sentence in jail. In May, Weinstein was indicted on charges of first- and third-degree rape in one case and a first-degree criminal sex act in another case, which carry a maximum sentence of 25 years. Coins2Day

• The state of abortion. President Donald Trump on Sunday floated the idea that states ultimately could determine the legality of abortion, underscoring the high stakes of the Supreme Court vacancy. “Maybe some day it will be to the states. You never know how that’s going to turn out," Trump said of abortion rights during a Fox interview. "That’s a very complex question.” He added: “It could very well end up with the states at some point." Wall Street Journal

• Changing the narrative. Celebrated novelist Junot Díaz spoke to The Boston Globe following allegations that he'd bullied women and had "forcibly kissed" another writer. He's back in his jobs at MIT and the Boston Review following investigations into the claims—which he denies. His case is highlighting a #MeToo dilemma—whether the movement should only be used to call out behavior like rape or assault, or if it can also encompass lesser bad behaviors. Boston Globe

• Leaving it alone? Remember Ivanka Trump's big paid family leave push? Her top adviser on the issue, Maggie Cordish, is leaving the White House and Politico reports there are no plans to replace her. The news fuels speculation that the administration is stepping away from the paid leave initiative amid Congressional pushback, but the White House says "nothing could be further from the truth." Politico

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

• Looking to Lisa. With Sen. Susan Collins (R–Maine) saying she would vote against a Supreme Court nominee who'd overturn Roe v. Wade, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R–Alaska) is also in the spotlight as another potential swing vote in the confirmation process. So far, Murkowski has stayed relatively tight-lipped on the topic, saying that she would “carefully scrutinize the qualifications of judicial nominees” and would cast an “independent vote.” Coins2Day

• Hair hero. An ad by razor company Billie has gone viral because it shows women—wait for it—actually shaving body hair. That shouldn't be revolutionary, but it is since ads for women's razors normally show legs and underarms that are already silky-smooth. BBC

• Merci, Simone. Simone Veil, the late Holocaust survivor and women's rights champion, was laid to rest at the Panthéon on Sunday, making her the fifth woman to be interred at the burial place for some of France's most illustrious citizens. “France loves Simone Veil,” President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday, a year after her death. “It loves her in her fights, always fair, always necessary, always animated by the will for the most fragile.” New York Times

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