Debbi Fields Net Worth - Pulptastic

Posted by Zora Stowers on Saturday, May 18, 2024

What is Debbi Fields’ Net Worth?

Debbi Fields, an American entrepreneur and author, has a net worth of $200 million. She is best known as the founder of the snack food franchiser Mrs. Fields, which has expanded to over 750 locations in more than 20 countries since its launch in 1977. Fields has also written several cookbooks and was one of the first Oakland A’s ball girls in the ’60s, using her earnings to start her cookie business at age 13. She wed her first husband at 19 and launched her cookie company in Palo Alto, California, at age 20, while being a housewife.

Fields’ cookie baking business franchised in 1990 and was later sold in the early ’90s, but she remains the business’ spokeswoman. She is famous for her motto, “Good Enough Never Is”, and one of her cookbooks was the first to ever top the “New York Times” bestseller list.

Early Life and Education

Debbi Fields, born in Oakland, California, was the youngest of five daughters of a housewife mother and a Navy welder father. Growing up, she found her passion for baking cookies, which earned high praise from her family and friends. At the age of 13, Fields started taking odd jobs to help pay for her cookie ingredients, including working as a “ball girl” for the MLB team the Oakland Athletics. She attended Alameda High School, where she was named homecoming queen in her senior year. Fields then went on to attend the Los Altos Hills community college Foothill College for two years before attending Stanford University.

Mrs. Fields: A Cookie Empire

In 1977, Debbi Fields founded Mrs. Fields, a cookie company in Palo Alto, California. The company quickly gained popularity and expanded to numerous locations across the United States. In 1990, Mrs. Fields was sold to an investment firm and went on to acquire other brands like TCBY, Pretzel Time, Pretzelmaker, and Great American Cookies. Today, Mrs. Fields has over 300 franchised locations in the United States and more than 100 locations worldwide, offering freshly baked cookies, brownies, and retail groceries and gifts.

However, the company faced financial troubles in the late 2000s due to sales of its subsidiary brands and company restructuring, leading to layoffs and bankruptcy threats. In 2011, control of the company was handed over to creditors Carlyle and Z Capital Partners, who became the sole owner of Mrs. Fields the following year. Despite these difficulties, Debbi Fields remains the company spokesperson. In 2014, Mrs. Fields acquired Maxfield Candy and Nutty Guys.

Marriage and Family Life

Debbi Fields married Randall Keith Fields in 1976 at the age of 19. Together, they had five daughters named Jessica, Jennifer, Jenessa, Ashley, and McKenzie. The couple divorced in 1997. Fields later married Michael Rose, former CEO of Holiday Inn and Harrah’s, in 1998. Rose started his career as a lawyer and eventually became Chairman of Holiday Corp, which owned Holiday Inn, Hampton Inns, Embassy Suites, and Harrah’s Casinos. Rose passed away in 2017. Through her marriage to Rose, Fields has five stepchildren.

Debbi Fields’ Real Estate Ventures

Debbi and her first husband owned a 200,000 acre ranch in Utah which became a source of conflict during their divorce trial. The ranch was eventually lost to foreclosure after years of neglect and unpaid taxes. The property was bought at auction for $3.5 million in 2011 and was later renovated. The new owner put the ranch on the market for $45 million in 2019.

Debbi and Michael Rose owned a 500+ acre ranch in Aspen, Colorado which they listed for sale in 2008 for $25 million and then in 2010 for $28 million. The property had been purchased by Michael in 1993 for $4.8 million. In 2002, the couple built an 11,000 square foot home on the land, which was inspired by Japanese architecture.

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