Megahn Markle has opened up on the complex relationship with success she had while growing up as a sense of “guilt” around having money was instilled in her.
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, was speaking on her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, with billionaire clothing entrepreneur Sara Blakely.
Blakely, who founded the woman’s shapeware brand Spanx in 1998, went from working as a humble saleswoman to building a staggering £1.3 billion fortune.
Her extraordinary story prompted Meghan to reflect on her own path to success, revealing she was “taught to not even talk about money”.
Meghan Markle revealed she was brought up being taught to feel guilt about having money.
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The Duchess added that she feltthere was a crushing“guilt mentality surrounding having a lot” of money.
She added that was made worse by a contrary “scarcity mindset” which left people feeling dissatisfied regardless of their success.
Meghan despaired about the compulsion some felt that they will “never have enough”.
The toxic perspective Meghan had once been shouldered with was in stark contrast to the outlook of Blakley.
Meghan spoke about the damaging mix of guilt and dissatisfaction in the mindset she had been shouldered with.
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The entrepreneur felt that what the duchess experienced was not uncommon.
“A lot of people have not realised they have not got great narratives around success or around obtaining a lot of financial freedom and money for themselves,” Blakely explained.
She continued: “I always tell women in particular, money is really fun to make, really fun to spend and really fun to give away.
“And I think money just makes you more of who you already were. Like if you were a jerk and you get a bunch of money, you become a bigger jerk… if you’re generous, you become more generous.
Billionaire guest Sara Blakely explained her own perspective on success to Meghan's delight.
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“It kind of just holds a magnifying glass up to you but it doesn’t create something terrible,” the Spanx founder concluded.
Meghan was enamoured with Blakely’s outlook, revealing she would “love to adopt” he way of seeing success.
Blakely also inspired the duchess as she discussed her latest venture, the new shoe brand Sneex.
“The category of fashion is something I will explore at a later date, because I do think that’s an interesting space for me,” Meghan mused in response.
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The Duchess also spoke about her plans for the future and the role of Blakely's father in her journey.
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In the podcast, the pair also discussed the role of Blakley’s father in her success journey.
"I remember reading, or maybe you told me, that when you were younger your dad would ask around the dinner table 'What did you fail at this week? What did you fail at today?'" Meghan asked.
The entrepreneur explained: “I was very lucky to have a parent who was incredibly strategic in his thinking... He was always trying to get us to redefine failure growing up."
"Wow, that's huge," the Duchess responded.
The conversation naturally drew comparisons to Meghan’s relationship with her own father, Thomas Markle, 80 – which broke down in 2018 around the time of her wedding to Prince Harry.
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