![]() Their original goal? To share the chubby tubby image pictured here (which jolted the pair into an alleged 73 minute laughing fit) with as many people who cared to see. The concept of creating ridiculous captions for absurd animal photos began with a photo of one very fat cat and ended with Eric and Kari becoming millionaires. Ridiculously Wealthy People Behind It: Eric Nakagawa (aka Cheezburger) and Kari Unebasami (aka Tofu burger) What else would you do if you let a gazillionaire-dollar idea slip through your fingers? In 2000, they sold their chain to Dollar Tree for $500 million.Īnd what of Harvey Ball? He became a yellow smiley-based philanthropist. The Spain’s opened the first Dollar Express in the ‘80s where they continued to sell the smiley. The fad peaked in 1971 and diminished after a year and a half, but that was enough time to do a lot of damage-50 million in sales worth of damage. The yellow smiley swept the nation and soon, the world. Wanting to start a novelty store, Bernard and Murray bought the legal rights to the mark along with the now infamous tag-line,“Have a nice day.” The brothers began slapping the image on everything possible. So who did make all that money off the brilliantly simple symbol? Two brothers, Bernard and Murray Spain, stumbled upon the unrealized potential of the smiley. The only money the Ball’s ever made from the simple sketch was the two-figure dollar amount they made selling it to the client. This is the story of Charlie Ball’s life.īack in 1963 his father, Harvey, first drew the happy face for his PR company’s client, State Mutual Life Insurance. Imagine further how upset you would be if your father never trademarked his image, and only made a measly $45 from the icon. Now imagine your father is the one who first drew this world-renown image. On the exterior is a goofy yellow smiley face grinning back at you, encouraging you to “Have A Nice Day!” You take your food and plop in front of the television to find the same stupid smiley rolling down the isles of a Wal-mart ad, bringing customers shopping cheer as they peruse the super store. You order takeout and the deliveryman leaves you with a white plastic bag. Ridiculously Rich People Behind It: Bernard and Murray Spain ![]() Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. ![]()
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