*By Max Godnick*
Bethenny Frankel is using the same skills she used to succeed in the business world to help change lives in Puerto Rico and Guatemala.
The author, philanthropist, and entrepreneur is the founder of B Strong, a crisis intervention initiative that focused its efforts on disaster relief during the historic Atlantic hurricane season of 2017. The organization helped charter over fifty planes to deliver aid to Puerto Rico and raised over $1 million, which was distributed via cash cards.
"It felt like business," Frankel said of the non-profit endeavor in an interview with Cheddar on Tuesday.
The "Real Housewives of New York" star said she approached her role like a CEO and viewed her supporters as investors.
"They were investing their money to help people or investing their time to donate," she said.
Frankel's business mindset is one she knows well as the founder of Skinnygirl, the lifestyle brand she sold to Beam Suntory in 2011. The company is now expanding beyond its cocktail roots into food and clothing, with a denim line expected to be in stores this fall. She also started production company B Real-ity and is a guest judge on ABC's hit deal-making show, "Shark Tank."
Frankel thinks these experiences helped her prepare for her most important job yet.
"I knew that skill set," she said of the tools required to conduct such a large-scale relief endeavor, directly tracing them back to her stint as an event planner. "I know how to start a company, I know how to run a company, I know how to manage people and execute."
Frankel said the experience kept her from sleeping for three months as she organized her team and helped mobilize online chat rooms into meaningful support. She framed her direct and personal approach to a privately-run humanitarian mission as more effective and trustworthy than larger organizations.
"Right now the world of Big Charity is very not trusted," Frankel said, adding, "The people in Puerto Rico don't know where that money is."
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/bethenny-frankel-runs-disaster-relief-efforts-like-a-ceo)
The one-hour special 'Cannabiz: Legalization Goes Mainstream' explores the state of marijuana. Cheddar News is joined by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Village CEO Dan Pettigrew, and many more.
Bitcoin is still struggling to hold $47,000 and is well off from the near $68,000 high it saw in November. As the Federal Open Market Committee wraps up its two-day monetary policy meeting, some crypto investors are worried as they wait for news on policy. Shiv Madan, CEO of Moonwalk joins Cheddar News to discuss what's in store for the industry.
We're entering a brave new world of broadly legal sports betting. Over 30 states and Washington, DC, have legalized sports betting in the year and a half since the supreme court struck down the federal ban on the activity.
But legalization isn't a simple proposition. The federal law might be struck down but its still up to each state to decide whether to legalize sports betting, and answer a litany of questions that come with it. Should you include online gambling? How much should people be allowed to bet? Should there be limits on advertising for sports betting?
Darren Heitner, founder of Heitner Legal, and Daniel Wallach, founder of Wallach Legal, join None of the Above's "Business of Sports: The Year Gambling Took Over" special to discuss.
Over the past decade, the resale market has completely transformed, allowing people to utilize platforms such as Etsy, Poshmark, eBay, and more to create a lucrative business from the comfort of their homes. However, as the space of secondhand sellers and thrifters gets more and more crowded, small businesses are facing bigger obstacles to not only thrive in the market but also survive. Yvette Liebesman, a law professor at Saint Louis, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Even as tech giant Google implements a vaccination mandate, charging its employees to declare their vaccine status within a time frame or risk dismissal, the federal government is tangled up in the court system trying to impose one of its own. Cindy Cohn, the executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Harry Nelson, founder and managing partner of Nelson Hardiman LLP, joined Cheddar to debate the ethics, efficacy, and legality surrounding the issue. While Cohn noted that she thinks the federal mandate might be legally sound, her organization is also concerned with a separate question of privacy. "At EFF what we're most interested in is the digital surveillance that's going along with some of these attempts to try to track and confirm whether people are vaccinated or not," she said.
A new report from CNBC says Instagram recently reached a new milestone -- 2 billion monthly active users. It comes amid a year of controversy for the photo-sharing app and its parent company, Meta. SocialFlow CEO Jim Anderson joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
A report from KPMG International found that global mergers and acquisitions in 2021 reached $5.1 trillion in transactions. Carol Streicher, U.S. deal advisory and strategy service group leader for KPMG, joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to talk about the record-breaking year and next year's outlook, which KPMG says could be even more staggering. "We're not seeing any slow down in '22," she said, regarding survey results of 350 business leaders. "Things that were tailwinds for us in M&A activity this past year are going to continue to be tailwinds for us in 2022."
MotorTrend named the Rivian R1T as the 2022 truck of the year - a prestigious title given by the publication as a way for automakers to tout third-party validation. Rivian beat out traditional, legacy truck favorites like Ford and General Motors.
MotorTrend said the company earned high marks for safety, efficiency, value, advanced design, engineering excellence, and performance of intended function. MotorTend head of editorial Ed Loh joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
