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Sara Blakely
American businesswoman (1971-)
GeorgiaRetailGiving Pledge
B
48.4
PBS
~$1.0B
Est. Net Worth
Source: Wikidata — retrieved 7/12/2026 (wikidata)
Source: Wikidata — retrieved 7/12/2026 (wikidata)
Profile Summary
Sara Blakely is an American businesswoman born in 1971 who is best known as the founder of Spanx, a retail apparel company Wikidata. She has an estimated net worth of ~$1.0B Wikidata. Public records also show that she is a Giving Pledge signatory Giving Pledge.
Business & SEC Activity
Blakely built her wealth through Spanx, which made her a billionaire in the retail industry Wikidata. News coverage in 2026 identified her as a Spanx billionaire and reported on her speaking to graduates about career advice NewsAPIGDELT.
Philanthropy
Foundation filings linked to Blakely show three foundations in the ProPublica 990 data, with total grants paid of $160,200 and total foundation assets of $1,934,301 ProPublica 990. Two of the listed foundations reported $0 in grants, assets, revenue, and expenses, while the Dorothy Blakely Foundation reported $160,200 in grants paid in tax year 2015 ProPublica 990.
Political Activity
FEC records show 79 contributions totaling $1,357.99 from 2012-01-19 to 2024-10-24 FEC. Most of the money went to ACTBLUE ($1,109.74), with smaller amounts to Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. ($113.25), WINRED ($85), and Biden for President ($50) FEC. The party breakdown shows $1,194.74 to PAC/Other, $50 to Democrats, and $113.25 to Republicans FEC.
In the News
Recent coverage includes a 2026 article about Blakely speaking to college graduates about career advice and another noting her appearance in connection with the ACE Awards NewsAPIGDELT. The available headlines do not provide additional business or financial details beyond her public profile as Spanx’s founder NewsAPIGDELT.
U.S. Presence
otherU.S. economic presence
Philanthropy
$1.9MFoundation Assets
$160KGrants Paid
3Foundations
Blakely FoundationDetroit, MI
Assets: $0Revenue: $0Grants: $0
Mission, purpose & full 990 filings → ProPublica Nonprofit ExplorerDorothy Blakely FoundationJackson, MI
Assets: $1.9MRevenue: $97KGrants: $160KTax Year: 2015
Mission, purpose & full 990 filings → ProPublica Nonprofit ExplorerBlakely Scholarship FoundationSacramento, CA
Youth development (IRS NTEE O12)
Assets: $0Revenue: $0Grants: $0
Mission, purpose & full 990 filings → ProPublica Nonprofit ExplorerPolitical Contributions
$1KTotal Contributed
79Contributions
2012–2024Date Range
By Party
Top Recipients
ACTBLUE$1K
DONALD J. TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT, INC.$113.25
WINRED$85
BIDEN FOR PRESIDENT$50
Recent News
18Total Articles
WWDTop Source
PositiveAvg. Sentiment
Score Breakdown
B
48.4
Public Benefit Score
The PBS is a weighted average of 2 components. The formula is open and versioned — the weight percentages below show how much each component contributes to the final score.
Philanthropy65% weight
Evidenced charitable giving — built on what they actually give each year, not parked assets. Dominated by generosity (annual giving relative to net worth — the share of your fortune you give), plus the absolute scale of that giving, plus a small nudge for signing the Giving Pledge (a commitment, not a realized action).
Data: ProPublica 990 charitable disbursements, net worth, The Giving Pledge registry
Transparency35% weight
How much sourced, public accountability data exists — net worth, political contributions, SEC filings, foundation 990s, news coverage, and a verified profile. More public disclosure scores higher.
Data: FEC, SEC EDGAR, ProPublica 990s, GDELT / NewsAPI, Wikidata
Formula (v2): PBS = 65% x Philanthropy + 35% x Transparency
Scored on 6/23/2026 on a 0–100 scale. The score uses only the signals we have populated data for. Goal Impact, Controversy, and Community Approval are deferred until that data exists — Phase 1 goal adoption, controversy detection, and community votes respectively.
All data is sourced from public records. Each section links to its original source. View on Wikidata