Ty Warner
| Ty Warner | |
|---|---|
| Born |
H. Ty Warner September 3, 1944 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Residence | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Citizenship | American |
| Education | Kalamazoo College (1 year) |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur and hotelier |
| Known for | Sole owner of Ty Inc. Beanie Babies |
| Home town | LaGrange, Illinois, U.S. |
| Net worth | US$2.4 billion (Forbes 2016) |
H. Ty Warner (born September 3, 1944) is an American toy manufacturer, businessman, and former actor. He is the CEO, sole owner and founder of Ty Inc., which manufactures and distributes stuffed toys, including Beanie Babies and other lines. On the Forbes 2016 list of the world's billionaires, he was ranked #722 with a net worth of US$2.4 billion.
At the age of 14, Warner went to Lyons Township High School (south campus) in Western Springs, IL. He then went to St. John's Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin. Warner attended Kalamazoo College in Michigan but dropped out after a year.
Warner moved to Los Angeles, California to start a career in acting. He had little success as an actor and returned to Chicago after five years. There he began working for plush toy maker Dakin as a salesman, the same company where his father worked. In 1980 he was fired by Dakin, reportedly for selling his own products in competition with the company's line. After spending a three-year sabbatical in Italy, Warner returned to Chicago.
In 1986, he mortgaged his home and invested his life savings and a bequest from his father into founding Ty Inc. After starting out selling stuffed toy cats (inspired by some Warner had seen in Italy), in 1993 Ty Inc. launched Beanie Babies. At the peak of the Beanie craze, the privately owned Ty Inc. is believed to have earned over $700 million in profits in a year. On December 31, 1999, Ty Inc. announced that it would stop making Beanie Babies.
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