• It’s like Oprah, the brand, is dying: Back in 2008, Oprah Winfrey opened up a store dedicated to all things Oprah. It had an online component and even a few airport kiosks around Chicagoland. That’s all going away, along with the show that berthed them, at the end of May. “We’re ceasing retail operations as we shift our focus to our core business of television production,” said spokesman Don Halcombe, who noted that the store was meant as a way for Oprah fans to “take home a piece of that experience.” Buy your Oprah crap soon, guys! source

• I’m not a lesbian. I’m not even kind of a lesbian. And the reason why [the rumor] irritates me is because it means that somebody must think I’m lying. That’s number one. Number two … why would you want to hide it? That is not the way I run my life.
• Oprah Winfery • Getting teary-eyed at the idea that someone would think she’s a lesbian. Oprah, who said this during a Barbara Walters interview which we’re now going to watch now that she’s said this, got very emotional about the accusations, which have revolved around her friend Gayle King. Here’s the thing, Oprah. Even if you were, it wouldn’t even be that big a deal. Ellen DeGeneres is basically your heir apparent, and she’s been an outed lesbian for like twelve years now. But we understand why the rumors suck. source

• Carlos Slim is on top this year. But look deeper. Forbes’ billionaires list, a cultural touchstone, usually only focuses on the top of the list, mainly because it makes a good headline. But Forbes has a TON of information about the billionaires on their list. Here are some of our favorite details from doing a little research:

A good year for rebounds

• 1,011 billionaires are on this year’s list, which is way up from last year
• 164 billionaires returned to the list after losing much of their value in 2008
• 89 billionaires came from China, the largest non-U.S. total source

Extremes in rich bastards

• youngest Mark Zuckerberg, who, at 25, has more money than you’ll ever dream of, with assets worth $4 billion. Just think how much he’d be worth if Facebook took the IPO plunge. Or actually, just sulk. source
• oldest Fellow technology maven Walter Haefner is the real-life Mr. Burns at age 99. Except, instead of a nuclear plant, he owns 24 percent of information technology firm Computer Associates. source

• poorest Actually, trick question: There are 75 billionaires on the list with EXACTLY $1 billion in hand.
• leaper Brazilian oil baron Elke Batista wins, jumping $19.5 billion in a single year, to $27 billion.
• stars Oprah’s leaving her TV show soon, but she doesn’t need it; she’s worth $2.4 billion.

Schadenfreude-worthy subject

• Raj Rajaratnam is in big trouble. One of the guys who lost his billionaire club card, Rajaratnam’s hedge fund, Galleon Group, was caught in a major insider-trading scandal, which caused the fund to lose value quickly this past October, and as a result Rajaratnam is no longer a billionaire (and is probably going to prison!). source

• If you’re willing to pull off this kind of deception…what else would you be willing to deceive the American public about?
• Oprah • Speaking on her show yesterday. Her guest was Andrew Young (along with his wife Cheri), and they were talking about the ever-popular topic of Edwards’ affairs. Regarding what the purported sex tape shows, they revealed it shows Edwards “performing sex acts” while a woman who’s probably Rielle Hunter holds the camera. “Thank you for that information,” Oprah said. No, Thank. You. Oprah. source

• We have the greatest respect for Oprah and wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors. We know that anything she turns her hand to will be a great success. We look forward to working with her for the next several years, and hopefully afterwards as well.
• A statement by CBS Television Distribution • Regarding Oprah’s decision to leave her generation-old institution of a talk show behind. It probably has something to do with the launch of “OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network,” a joint venture between her studio, Harpo, and Discovery Communications. The network is planned to start up She’s leaving her show in September of that year. And the broadcast industry weeps for the loss of one of its own. • source

• Oprah’s a tweeter! Oprah, as promised, covered Twitter on her show today, giving the site the same sort of mainstream recognition that Jonathan Franzen didn’t want a while back. Some Twitter users apparently don’t want it either; one of the the trending topics today is #unfollowfriday, a reaction to Oprah, Ashton Kutcher and other celebrity tweeters diehards think are overexposing the service. source

• Oprah’s a tweeter! Oprah, as promised, covered Twitter on her show today, giving the site the same sort of mainstream recognition that Jonathan Franzen didn’t want a while back. Some Twitter users apparently don’t want it either; one of the the trending topics today is #unfollowfriday, a reaction to Oprah, Ashton Kutcher and other celebrity tweeters diehards think are overexposing the service.
• Mikeyy says “hayyyyyyy” Mikeyy, the Twitter worm that’s been spreading around for the last week, started populating Twitter in another set of mutations, this time welcoming Oprah to the service, trashing Soulja Boy, hitting on Ellen DeGeneres and overall just being a pain in the butt. Mikeyy doesn’t harm your computer, he just annoys you and all your friends because he thinks it’s funny. source

• “Dude Where’s My Car” star Ashton Kutcher succeeded last night at his goal of reaching a million Twitter followers before CNN could, and the video of him doing it is pretty entertaining.

• Kutcher’s role as celebrity ambassador for Twitter only starts there, as he’ll be on Oprah today talking about the feat. Will Oprah have a book club effect on Twitter? God, we hope not.

• Ashton

• Oprah

• She seemed to be someone who would help Barack Obama in a significant way become president. She was obviously someone with a much broader bully pulpit than other senators.
• Rod Blagojevich • Illinois governor, on one appointment consideration he had for Barack Obama’s old senate seat, iconic daytime talk-show host Oprah Winfrey. The governor is facing an impeachment trial for allegedly making that seat pay-for-play. He chose to take his case to “Good Morning America” today, rather than testify at his own trial. • source