Arianna Huffington

About Arianna Huffington

Arianna Huffington was born in Athens, Greece, on July 15, 1950.^[3] Her birth name is Ariadnē-Anna Stasinopoúlou. Her father, Konstantinos Stasinopoulou, was a journalist and management consultant,^[4] though Huffington was raised by her mother, Elli Stasinopoulou, after her parents separated when she was eleven years old.^[5] Huffington has one sister, Agapi Stasinopoulou, who is an author and speaker.^[4]  

At age 16, Huffington left Greece to attend Cambridge University in the UK.^[1] At Cambridge, she became the president of the Cambridge Union, the school’s debate club. She graduated with an M.A. in economics in 1972.^[6] 

Just before graduating from Cambridge, Huffington met renowned author and journalist Bernard Levin, and the two began dating. Because Huffington wanted children and Levin did not, the two separated in 1980. Huffington moved to New York City after the breakup. Though Levin and Huffington never married, she describes him as a major influence in her life, and they remained friends until his death.^[7]  

After Levin’s death in 2004, Huffington wrote, “He wasn’t just the big love of my life; he was a mentor as a writer and a role model as a thinker.”^[7] 

In 1985, Huffington met her future husband, politician, and billionaire Michael Huffington.^[8] They were married the following year and now have two daughters, Christina and Isabella.^[9] The couple divorced in 1997.^[8] 

Career

Huffington began her career as a writer, publishing two books in the 1970s and contributing several articles to the National Review in the 1980s.^[10][11] She has appeared as a host on several television programs, including Saturday Night at the Mill and Left, Right, and Center.^[12][13]

Huffington has served on numerous boards, including Onex and The B Team, Uber, The Center for Public Integrity, and the Berggruen Institute.^[14][15][16] 

The Huffington Post

Huffington co-founded the news website The Huffington Post in 2005 with Andrew Breitbart, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti.^[17] The site was founded as a liberal-leaning alternative to conservative news websites. In 2006, the company raised $5 million in a Series A round of funding.^[18] Two years later, it raised another $25 million and received a $100 million valuation.^[19] 

In 2011, AOL acquired The Huffington Post for $315 million.^[20] Arianna Huffington stayed with the company as editor-in-chief until 2016, when she stepped down to focus on her new venture, Thrive Global.^[21] 

Thrive Global

In 2016, Huffington founded New York City-based Thrive Global, a wellness and behavioral change company.^[21] Her inspiration for the business came in 2007 after she collapsed due to sleep exhaustion and woke up with a broken cheekbone.^[22] 

She says, “After my collapse from sleep deprivation and exhaustion in 2007, I became more and more passionate about the connection between well-being and performance. And as I went around the world speaking about my experience, I saw two things: First, that we’re facing a stress and burnout epidemic. And second, that people deeply want to change the way they work and live.”^[22] 

In 2017, Thrive Global reported it had doubled its revenue targets for the year within six weeks of launching.^[23] By November 2017, the company was valued at $120 million.^[24] Huffington is the CEO of the company and hosts the Thrive Global Podcast.^[25] 

Arianna Huffington Books

After writing her first book at age 23, Huffington went on to publish 14 more. While her first book was a criticism of the women’s liberation movement, she has written on topics including artist biographies, political commentary, greek mythology, and health and wellness.^[26][27]  

Here’s a list of Huffington’s books: 

• The Female Woman (1973)
• After Reason (1978) 
• Maria Callas: The Woman Behind the Legend (1981)
• The Gods of Greece (1993)
• The Fourth Instinct (1994) 
• Picasso: Creator and Destroyer (1996)
• Greetings from the Lincoln Bedroom (1998)\
• How to Overthrow the Government (2000) 
• Pigs at the Trough (2003) 
• Fanatics & Fools (2004) 
• On Becoming Fearless . . . In Love, Work, and Life (2007) 
• Right is Wrong: How the Lunatic Fringe Hijacked America, Shredded the Constitution, and Made Us All Less Safe (2008) 
• Third World America: How Our Politicians Are Abandoning the Middle Class and Betraying the American Dream (2010) 
• Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder (2014)
• The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time (2016)

Politics

Huffington was initially known for her conservative political commentary. Earlier in her life, she supported conservative causes and politicians, including Newt Gingrich’s “Republican Revolution.”^[28] In 1996, she appeared in Comedy Central’s Strange Bedfellows as the conservative half of the show’s hosts.^[29]  

However, Huffington later began supporting Democratic candidates and actively opposing conservative candidates. In 2004, she announced her support of Democrat John Kerry in his presidential campaign.^[30]    

In 2003, Huffington ran as an independent candidate in the 2003 California Gubernatorial recall election. After polls showed only about 2% of voters planned to vote for Huffington, she dropped out of the race and encouraged voters to vote against the recall.^[31]

During the election, Huffington voiced her disapproval of candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger, saying, “It has become clear to me that the only way to stop a Republican takeover of our state is to vote No on the recall. Because it’s also clear that I am not going to win on October 7, I am withdrawing from the race so that I can devote all my time and energy in the remaining week to defeating the recall— and to defeating the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Pete Wilson forces that are trying to use the recall to hijack our state.”^[32]

Arianna Huffington Today

Huffington continues to advocate for health and wellness while operating her company Thrive Global. She is a Top Voice on LinkedIn, where she shares wellness content with her 9.5 million followers. Huffington resides in New York City, New York.^[6]