What happened to Florine Mark?
William Taylor
Updated on May 28, 2026
Metro Detroit businesswoman Florine Mark, who once owned the most Weight Watchers franchises in the world, has sold the last of her franchise business to Weight Watchers’ parent company.
Is Florine Mark married?
Florine Mark was born in Detroit, Michigan. She married young, having five children with two marriages.
Who did Florine Marks sell Weight Watchers to?
WW International
Florine Mark sold a big chunk of her Weight Watchers Group to WW International some 14 years ago. Today, she announced the sale of the rest of it to WW International, the national franchisor for Weight Watchers. The sale reportedly includes the remaining operations in Michigan and Canada.
Did Florine Mark Find Weight Watchers?
Born and raised in Detroit, Florine Mark has achieved tremendous success as an entrepreneur, motivational speaker and humanitarian. In 1966, while raising five children and battling weight, Florine joined the newly conceived Weight Watchers in New York City. There, she lost 50 pounds and found her life’s work.
Who is the owner of Weight Watchers?
Artal Luxembourg, S.AWW International / Parent organization
Is WW closing studios?
“As the COVID-19 crisis has forced the closure of our physical studios around the world, we have had to make some difficult decisions that have directly impacted the lives of some of our valued team members,” WW said in a statement to USA TODAY Friday.
Has Weight Watchers been sold?
Oprah Winfrey recently disclosed the sale of more than $16 million of WW International shares. The media icon made the sale through both a personal account and the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation. WW (ticker: WW) is still probably best known by its former name, Weight Watchers.
Does Oprah still own WW?
In 2015, Oprah bought a minority stake in global nutrition and weight loss program Weight Watchers for a reported $34 million. By 2020, the value of her investment in the publicly-traded company (now officially called WW International) had increased to as much as $430 million.
Does Oprah still own part of WW?
Weight Watchers Oprah owns around 8% of the company and was given the option to buy an additional 4.3% of the company’s common stock on a fully diluted basis after signing a new partnership with the company.
