Arianna Huffington

Arianna Huffington is a Greek-American author, businesswoman, and sleep evangelist. She is the co-founder of The Huffington Post, a popular news and blog website. Huffington also founded the health and wellness platform Thrive in 2016.

Arianna Huffington was born in Athens, Greece. She moved to the UK at the age of 16 and studied economics at Girton College, Cambridge. Huffington was the first foreign president of the Cambridge Union. Later she moved to the US and began her career in media.

In the 1970s, Arianna Huffington began writing books with editorial help from the English author Bernard Levin. She debuted with The Female Women (1973), which presented a controversial perspective on feminism. She criticized what she saw as a narrow focus on career and economic success, arguing that it comes at the expense of other meaningful aspects of life, such as family and personal well-being.

Arianna continued her writing career. In 1981 she wrote a biography of Maria Callas, Maria Callas — The Woman Behind the Legend, and in 1989 a biography of Pablo Picasso, Picasso: Creator and Destroyer. Later, both books were accused of plagiarism.

Huffington first gained recognition as a conservative commentator and author, writing for National Review and The Weekly Standard in the 1990s. She was a regular guest on political talk shows, including Crossfire and Politically Incorrect.

In 2005, Arianna Huffington co-founded The Huffington Post, a popular news and blog website that quickly became one of the most widely read sites.

AOL acquired the Huffington Post in 2011, but Huffington remained editor-in-chief for several years. She then resigned to focus on other initiatives.

In 2016, Arianna Huffington founded Thrive Global, a health and wellness platform that aims to help people and organizations reduce stress and burnout and improve their well-being.

All this time, she continued to write books and is the author of 15 titles. Her most recent book, The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time (2016), became the New York Times bestseller.

Huffington received numerous awards and honors. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

In 2021, Forbes selected her for the inaugural "50 Over 50" list, which includes entrepreneurs, leaders, academics, and creatives over the age of 50.

Photo credit: FB @AriannaHuffington