puts sara blakely at number 1,153. sounds low? well, low is a net worth of $1 billion.he's 41 years old. think underwear again. under armour. the sweat wicking material, developed by a former college football player. first as a t-shirt. but it went on from there. puts under armour developer kevin plank, who is 39, at 1,075, worth $1 billion, for a company started in 2006. that's getting rich awfully quick, isn't it? >> that's because they are creating new product categories. and they continue to dominate those product categories. in many cases, they're taking those companies public. and people are excited about the products. and they're investing in them. >> hello, my friend. >> can't get it together in the morning? >> reporter: this is what put manag pargarva on the list. one two-ounce can at a time. he's only been in business eight years. virt really creating the energy shot field. and it's built him a net worth of $1.3 billion and given him spot number 960 on the "forbes" list. go higher up the list, and at 634 there's elon musk who made money in paypal. but right no

. >>> when a woman named sara blakely was just 27 years old and a saleswoman, she had a good idea. undergarments that work hard to put stuff back where it was perhaps and flatter every figure. she turned that good idea into the very successful company called spanx. well, now of course they're ubiquitous. they've sold millions. they've made billions. and tonight sara blakely has become the youngest woman to join the previously exclusive, mostly male club, the "forbes" billionaire list. >>> and across the pond today it was all hail the queen. kate, the duchess of cambridge, helping the queen, who's now 85 years old, kick off her diamond jubilee tour, celebrating 60 years on the british throne. >>> up next here tonight, some spectacular images of what's in the wild. and there's a good reason for them all. >>> finally tonight, saving the animals. some of the most unusual and spectacular species on earth. our chief environmental affairs correspondent anne thompson has the story of a man using his unique eye to help all creatures great and small and show the rest of us what's at stake he

all week, as we saw sara blakely smiling from the cover of the magazine, we had no idea the journey that here. how much she failed and had to get back up. something she says her father daughter as a kid at the dinner table. >> we would sit at the dining room table and say, okay, kids. what did you fail at today? i would say i tried out and i was horrible. and he would go way to go. and high-five me. and it completely reset my definition of failure. so, for my brother and me, failure is not trying. it's not the outcome. >> reporter: it was still early in life when people close to her died. and her parents separated. so, again, her dad asked his heartbroken daughter to listen to some motivational tapes. she was 16. >> it was the wayne dyer series of cassette tapes, "how to be a no-limit person." >> you have to understand, you're not going to get healed if you're asking someone else to heal you. >> i listened to that series so much, i actually memorized all, i think it was ten tapes. and it became a joke because in high school, i'm listening to these tapes. "how do be a no-limit person." ev

hello to you, sara blakely. >> good morning. >> congratulations!g to make you blush. charlie, do you have anybody idea what it is? >> no, i don't. really did not know. but congratulations. i just never have seen the two of them so enthusiastic about somebody that they wanted to pay homage to. so explain to me what has all these people atwitter. >> thank god for panty lines because that's how it all started. you had an unsightly panty line and so you did what? >> i basically didn't like the way my own rear end looked in white pants. i don't know if this has happened to you, charlie, but it's a real problem for women. i couldn't figure out what to wear under my clothes. the body shapers were too thick at the time. it almost felt like wearing workout clothes. so i cut the feet out of control panty hose and realized it was perfect and the hosiery material was thin enough. >> i only wish you had come to me and said i need a little money. >> number one, you're the second cover on forbes magazine. that's very cool. you're the second cover, which is a big

one of the women who jumped out at us was sara blakely. >> sara blakely is the founder of spanx, thisrdle. she started this company with about $5,000 in savings. it's taken off. she's got boutiques in department stores, she's spreading the sales across the globe. she is more and more popular and the country is scooping up spanx. >> she's how rich now? >> she owns 75% of the company, and four different banks that one of our reporters talked to valued the company at a billion dollars. she started with $5,000 in savings. she's a real go-getter. she really figured out how to get her product into stores. there's no marketing budget for her spanx. a lot of it is word of mouth and it's just taken off. >> who has the biggest number of billionaires, i guess, globally? is it china, is it russia? who? >> it's the united states. we've got 425 billionaires out of that 1226 total you mentioned. and u.s. has basically, for the 26 years that forbes has been tracking global billionaires, the u.s. has been number one in all of those years. number two is russia this year and number three is china. >> an

are a few newbies, including elon musk, co-founder of paypal and founder of tesla motors; and sara blakely, who's made her fortune helping others look good. blakely is the woman behind the spx brand of shapewear. and tom, at 41, she's the youngest self-made female billionaire, a special recognition on this international women's day. >> helen: very good, congratulations to her. >> and to all of them. >> susie: that's "nightly business report" for thursday, march 8. we want to remind you this is the time of year your public television station seeks your support... >> tom: ...support that makes programs like "nightly business report" possible. >> susie: thanks for joining us, and don't forget to support your public television station. i'm susie gharib. good night, everyone. you, too, tom. >> tom: good night, susie. i'm tom hudson. we'll see all of you again tomorrow evening. "nightly business report" is made possible by: captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> tom: i'm tom hudson with a

another addition is sara blakely.ou may not know her name but have probably heard of her invention, spanx. at 41, she's the youngest self-made woman billionaire. i'm wearing my spanx right now. >> are there spanx for pen? >> there are. >> we'll see you at 6:00. >> i can get you some. ♪ ♪ hit the road, jack ♪ and don't you come back no more ♪ ♪ no more, no more, no more ♪ hit the road, jack ♪ and don't you come back no more ♪ [ male announcer ] want your weeds to hit the road? hit 'em with roundup extended control. one application kills weeds and puts down a barrier to stop new ones for up to four months. roundup extended control spray once. stop weeds for months.

sara blakely squeezed on to the list this year by helping women squeeze into their favorite little black dresses. >> spanx makes you look smoother and slimmer in all the right places. >> reporter: the creator of spanx was only 29 when she invested her entire life savings, $5,000 into an idea. inspired when she heard oprah saying she made her own version of a tummy-flattener. kevin plank, the self-proclaimed sweatiest guy on the football field, turned that sweat into gold, coming up with under armour, a sports apparel line. car aficionado elon musk, racing his way to a cool $2 billion, thanks to his electrifying electric car, the tesla. his next project could take him to the moon. literally. rumor has it he's looking into space rocket engineering next. and less than a year after the death of steve jobs, his widow laurene enters the list with an estimated $9 billion. that's $2 billion more than jobs was worth when he died last october. the youngest on the list? that would be 27-year-old dustin moskowitz of facebook fame, puling in $3.5 billion. his former harvard roomate and facebook found

her name is sara blakely and she invented spanks for all you women out there.k what can happen if you have a great invention. the forbes list is $4.6 trillion. >> combined. wow. >> must be nice. >> $7 billion only. >> finally aig. >> the u.s. taxpayer the treasury owns about 77 percent of aig. that might go down to 70 percent because they are selling aig stock. we are looking at 3 billion that aig would possibly by that. >> lauren sim nonetti. it is 5:18 after the hour. prisoners at gitmo getting a brand new soccer field paid for by you the taxpayer. to clarify this is for the prisoners not the soldiers there. our soldiers are being asked to pay fmore for healthcare. what gives? army commander is weighing in on that. why one school is hiring collection agencies to go after parents. definitely have to hear this one. flush ♪ >> it is 22 after the hour as we take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly. good get pumped the city of fort lauderdale offering free gas to ture wrists. officials with the convention ner's bureau giving $25 gas cards to any one who books

also you see sara blakely who invented those formfitting pantyhose often without toes.t rate and $350 million a year. -- that rakes in $350 million a year. >> good evening. abc 7 news has exclusive details about a massive manhunt for a man seen in a pornographic video with a child. why federal officials say the video could lead them to a network of suspected child predators. the presidential campaign hones in on two states. why a new documentary could boost president obama's campaign. >> thank you very much. it may be 70 degrees outside and beautiful, that does not mean they are not having fun on a local ski slope. this video from liberty mountain -- it is none author then this snowboarding possum. he is getting a lot of attention after this video was posted. he has a sweater on to keep him warm. >> he is not ranting on the internet about the slow. it sounds like he probably would not even need that sweater today. >> probably not. i am not big into possums they're not nice creatures my experience with them. i hope the little possum enjoys the stuff out there, because th

this woman, sara blakely. she cashed in by slimming down. >> what do you think?i feel ten years younger. >> reporter: she created spanx. the pantyhose without toes. they add curves to all the right places. >> i got the idea from my own rear end. i didn't like the way my butt looked in white pants. spanx filled a much-needed niche on the perfect undergarment to wear that made a difference and gave no panty lines and really firmed and toned everything up. >> reporter: octavia spencer joked she wore three pairs to the golden globes. >> in two pairs, i looked smooth. i'm going for three. >> reporter: spencer is not the only a-list. stars from gwyneth paltrow, jessica alba and millions of women on the go are fans. blakely says she owes her success to oprah winfrey. saying the idea for spanx came to her after watching her show. two years later, she found herself on oprah's show, as a favorite thing. >> spanx has revolutionized our lives. >> it was the most exciting moment ever. the sales just went crazy. i mean i just -- it all became about keeping up with production,

and she is the -- spanx founder, sara blakely up next. dude what? no, no, no. he's, he's on my back about providing for his little girl. hey don't worry. e-trade's got a totally new investing dashboard. everything is on one page, your investments, quotes, research... it's like the buffet last night. whatever helps you understand man. i'm watching you. oh yeah? well i'm watching you, watching him. [ male announcer ] try the new 360 investing dashboard at e-trade. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. >> and as you can see, the president has taken the stage now in chicago,s in a fundraiser here are his remarks. >> i have never seen the city look prettier, i have to say, and every time i come back, i am just overwhelmed with not only the beauty of this city, but i was explaining to folks as we were flying over dick durbin flew in with me, what makes this place so special is not just this is where my daughters were born, not just where you know, i really started my political career, but i've got so

this woman, sara blakely. she cashed in by slimming down. >> what do you think?i feel ten years younger. >> reporter: she created spanx. the panty hose without toes. they add curves to all the right places. >> i got the idea from my own rear end. i didn't like the way my butt looked in white pants. spanx filled a much-needed niche on the perfect undergarment to wear and gave no panty lines and firmed everything up. >> reporter: octavia spencer joked she wore three pairs to the golden globes. >> if two pair, i looked smooth. i'm going for three. >> reporter: stars from pal ttr to alba wear them. blakely says she owes her success to oprah winfrey. two years later, she found herself on the show as a favorite thing. >> spanx has revolutionized our lives. >> it was the most exciting moment ever. the seams went crazy. it became about keeping up with production and i then got into all these very amazing retailers. and hit the ground and stood in department stores for two years promoting spanx and lifting up my pant leg and shaking my backside for any woman that would li

newcomer to the list, though, sara blakely, she is the creator of spanx the undergarments that women and men -- >> not nodding. >> i'm not saying who is nodding. i'm not confirming the nods, but i also can confirm that men wear these, too. i'm not saying -- but blaky came in on the list at number 1,053. >> what does that say about our great nation that she's a billionaire, the woman who makes spanx that just basically sucks it all in. >> you're a tragic, tragic man. >>> still ahead this morning, the earth right now, don't want to scare you, but the earth right now is being blasted by the largest solar storm in years. if you have to catch a flight or on the phone or even if you just have a fridge, you might feel it today because it affects the power grid. we'll bring in the nasa scientists to talk about the possible fallout. >>> how do you wash these pants? look at the label. give it to a woman because it's her job. that's what the actual label says. happy international women's day, everybody. >>> we get right to my playlist before we go to commercial. this is shakira. ♪ oh! [ baby cr