7 of the most memorable Oprah Winfrey interviews ever

Oprah Winfrey has, in her five-decade career, conducted more than 37,000 interviews. Among those to join her on the sofa of The Oprah Winfrey Show have been some of the world's biggest names. From presidents to Hollywood greats and everything in between, there have been plenty of shocking and memorable moments.

And as it is announced the talk show host will sit down with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in March, for their first interview since stepping back as senior members of the British royal family, the world waits with bated breath to hear what they will have to say.

Until then, here are seven of the biggest interviews Oprah has done over the years:

Michael Jackson

In 1993, Winfrey was personally invited to Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch for an interview with the notoriously private star. The interview went on to become the most watched in television history, thanks in part to the Thriller star's unusual openness, which saw him discuss everything from his relationship with his father to his skin condition, vitiligo.

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York

Former wife of Prince Andrew, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, has been interviewed by Oprah on a number of occasions. However, the most notable was her 1996 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show – the year of her divorce – in which she spoke of the breakdown of her marriage, and was critical of the British media, calling them "invasive" and "cruel". She was also interviewed in 2011 after British tabloid News of the World leaked video footage of her accepting a bribe in exchange for access to Prince Andrew the year before.

Tom Cruise

In 2005, Tom Cruise provided one of the most talked-about moments in the history of The Oprah Winfrey Show when he famously leapt on to the couch to declare his love for then-girlfriend Katie Holmes. The hyperactive, chaotic interview with Cruise – who was arguably one of Hollywood's biggest stars at the time – was one of the first videos to truly go viral on newly-launched YouTube, and would provide enough gossip page fodder to keep columnists in business for months.

Whitney Houston

In 2009, Oprah sat down with Whitney Houston for what became one of her most shocking interviews ever. The singer got candid about the breakdown of her 14-year marriage to Bobby Brown, discussing alleged infidelity as well as emotional and physical abuse. She also spoke of her struggles to overcome addiction.

Barack Obama

Then-US president Barack Obama and the first lady, Michelle Obama sat down with Oprah in 2011, becoming the first sitting president to appear on the show. For the interview, the trio took a trip to the Obamas's hometown of Chicago. President Obama opened up about his love for his wife and children, and Oprah admitted it was one of only a small handful of times she felt nervous to interview one of her guests, describing it as an "out of body" experience.

Rihanna

For Oprah's Next Chapter in 2012, Rihanna took Oprah on a tour of her childhood neighbourhood in Barbados, before sitting down for a lengthy chat in which she discussed the violence she experienced at the hands of her former boyfriend, R'n'B star Chris Brown.

Speaking of the media circus that followed the incident, an emotional Rihanna said: “It was a weird space to be in, because as angry as I was, as angry and hurt and betrayed, I just felt like, he made that mistake because he needed help, and who’s going to help him. Nobody is going to say he needs help, everybody is going to say he is a monster.”

Lance Armstrong

After years of denying allegations, in 2013, Lance Armstrong finally admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs in cycling races. He sat down with Oprah for a tell-all interview, where he addressed the controversy for the first time on camera. He revealed he had used the drugs to win all seven of his Tour de France titles, and claimed that doping was so prevalent in the sport at the time, that it would have been impossible to win without them.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”