What Is Jenny Craig's Net Worth?
Jenny Craig is an American businesswoman and entrepreneur who has a net worth of $300 million. Jenny Craig is a weight loss guru who co-founded the company Jenny Craig, Inc. with her husband, Sidney Craig, who she married in 1979. The couple originally created their fitness, nutrition, and weight loss program in Australia, eventually expanding to the United States in 1985. Today, the company operates over 700 weight loss centers around the world and has more than 3,000 employees. The system has been endorsed by many celebrities, including Monica Lewinsky, Kirstie Alley, Valerie Bertinelli, Queen Latifah, Jason Alexander, and Mariah Carey. Sidney Craig died in 2008. Jenny is also a philanthropist who has donated tens of millions of dollars to charity. After donating $10 million to Fresno State University, the college named its business school the Sid Craig School of Business. After donating $10 million to the University of San Diego, the college built a sports center called the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
IPO and Acquisition
Jenny and Sidney Craig took their company public in 1991, raising approximately $74 million. In the mid-1990s, the company was generating $350-400 million in revenue per year.
In 2002, the company was acquired by a private equity firm. In 2006, the company was sold to Nestle for $600 million.
(Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Early Life
Jenny Craig was born Genevieve Guidroz on August 7, 1932, in Berwick, Louisiana. She was later raised in New Orleans and started going by the name Jenny.
Jenny Craig
Jenny and her husband, Sidney, had the idea to create a weight loss and nutrition company in the early 1980s. In 1983, they founded Jenny Craig, Inc. in Melbourne, Australia, and began operations in the United States in 1985. After opening in the U.S., the company expanded rapidly. They opened 46 locations in 1987 and also began operations in 114 other countries.
The diet is structured and features prepackaged foods that help customers manage calories and portion sizes. It also promotes living an active lifestyle and developing better health habits overall. Clients are connected to personal coaches who help set goals and achieve them. Over the years, the structure of the plan has changed to suit changing diet trends as well as new data about health and fitness.
Throughout the 1990s, the company's size declined, as did its share price. In 1998, it was only operating in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the United States, and revenues had fallen significantly. After experiencing a series of financial troubles related to weight loss drugs, employee training, and costly leases, the company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in August 2001. Its stock was then traded over the counter.
In 2002, the company was acquired by MidOcean Partners, a private equity investment firm. In June 2006, they sold the company to Nestlé for $600 million.
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Personal Life
Jenny married Sidney Craig in 1979. After the success of their company, the couple became generous philanthropists. In 1992, they committed $10 million to Fresno State University for its School of Business and Administrative Services. The school was later named the Sid Craig School of Business. In 1996, the couple committed an additional $10 million to the University of San Diego, some of which was used to build the Jenny Craig Pavilion, a recreation and sports center.
Both Jenny and Sidney are interested in horses. In 1995, they bought a thoroughbred horse ranch and breeding operation in Rancho Santa Fe, California. One of their horses finished seventh in the 1992 Kentucky Derby and also won the 1992 Epsom Derby. Another one of their horses won the Breeders' Cup Distaff at Gulfstream Park. In 2003, their horse Candy Ride won six races in a row and set a Del Mar track record in the one-and-a-quarter mile race.
Craig suffered from a strange health scare in April 1995. While napping, she was startled awake. The scare caused a medical anomaly similar to lockjaw in which she was unable to open her mouth. She was eventually able to pry her mouth open, but the condition worsened over time. It became very difficult for her to eat, drink, and speak, and she was diagnosed with temporomandibular joint syndrome. She was referred to a series of specialists but was unable to find a solution. In the spring of 1998, a new doctor discovered she was suffering from atrophying mouth muscles. After a corrective surgery and a year of speech therapy, she was able to make a full recovery.
Real Estate
In 1986, Jenny and Sidney bought a beachfront mansion in Del Mar, California, for $3.25 million. That's the same as around $8 million today. Jenny sold the home in August 2019 for $22 million. Here is a video tour of Jenny Craig's former Del Mar mansion:
In 1995, Jenny and Sidney bought a 228-acre thoroughbred horse ranch in Rancho Santa Fe, California, roughly 15 minutes away from their Del Mar home. Over the years, they had horses race in the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders' Cup. In 2018, Jenny sold the ranch to Bill Gates, whose daughter Jennifer is an avid equestrian.
