New Billionaire - Isaac Perlmutter

Ever wonder where do superheroes like Spider-Man, the Hulk, Captain America and X-Men come from?

Have you heard of Marvel Comics? Well, that’s where they’re created.

And now, let’s welcome a new billionaire‚ Issac Perlmutter!!!

Yes, he is the CEO of Marvel Entertainment. 


This man, age 67 years, is now worth 1.6 billion US Dollars!

More commonly known as "Ike", he was born in Israel but has a Jewish-American ethnic background. Who would have thought that this successful businessman's first fortune was made from selling surplus goods to dollar stores? He started with $250.  In between, he stood outside Jewish cemeteries, touted for work services, sold toys and beauty products on the street and even owned shares in an electric razor manufacturing company.

Here’s an interesting bit about him: The famous behind-the-scenes hero of Marvel Entertainment is unexpectedly publicity-shy! He disguises himself when attending movie premieres until the state that no one could recognise him, not even his close friends! Isn’t that unbelievable? His heavy Israeli accent is believed as the reason for his shyness in public. He tends to keep a low profile, that is why photographs of him are particularly difficult to be found online and little is known about his early background. Also, he is described as the type of guy that wouldn’t be noticed deliberately. Being observant and absorbing everything that happens around him, he is often taken to be a relaxing person who does not seem to worry about anything. Do not bear such thoughts in mind, as he is well known for progressing ahead and preparing for the next challenge in life.  

Believe it or not, penny pinching is also one of this new billionaire’s traits! It is said that he keeps each and every publishing cost under his thumb, which includes toilet paper, paper towels, paperclips, staples and even coffee! How astonishing!

Billionaire You've Never Heard Of - Ty Warner

Have you ever heard of Ty Beanie Babies?

Do you have one or have you ever had one of them?

Do you know who was the inventor of these cute plush toys?

Let me tell you,
his name is Ty Warner,
aged 66 years old.

He invented these small toys stuffed with plastic beans called Ty Beanie Babies back in 1993.

His invention and talent in marketing earned him $6 billion back in those years,
but now his net worth has dropped to $2.9 billion.
But that amount still makes him a Billionaire.

It's not surprising that not much people know about who he is because he likes to keep himself out of the public spotlight.
He really is a secretive guy - even his corporate phone number is not on the phone list.


But we managed to dig up part of his story and are about to share it with you, take a look.

• Ty began attending college at Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan where he studied Drama.
• He went to work selling plush animals for a San Francisco based toy company called Dakin in 1962. 
• He heads to Sorrento, Italy after leaving Dakin looking for business inspiration. 
• In Italy he discovered a nice range of soft, cute and cuddly plush cats which he had never seen in the U.S. 
• In 1986, Ty, Inc. was incorporated.

He really is a generous guy where he donated:

• $6 million to the Andre Agassi Foundation for underprivileged children in Las Vegas 
• $3 million for the creation of Ty Warner Park, $8M for the Ty Warner Sea Park in California 
• 10,000 Beanie Babies for children in Iraq.

Are you Billionaire material?

What was your first job?
Do you remember?

Today's Billionaires have had a range of different first jobs.  Below are some of them - can you find your first job here anywhere?

According to Forbes, paper routes are the most common first jobs of Billionaires. 

Paper routes? 

But these guys didn't just collect and deliver papers.  Take a look how:

• Sheldon Gary Adelson borrowed $200 from his Uncle when he was only 12 years old, so he had the money to cover the costs of selling newspapers on two street corners in Boston.  Today, Wikipedia cite him as America's 13th richest American, with a fortune approaching $14.7 billion.  He is currently Chairman and CEO of The Las Vegas Sands Corporation.  Were you this entrepreneurial at only 12 years of age?
• In 1940, at the same age, T Boone Pickens expanded his 28-house paper route to 156 by taking over the routes of his competitors.  Can you imagine then that in the 1980s that he was a well known corporate raider and takeover operator?  Today, at 82 years of age, he chairs the hedge fund BP Capital management.  He is now worth about $1.4 billion, and is ranked as the 290th richest person in the United States.
• Finally, Patrick Joseph McGovern Jr, also a paperboy in his youth is now worth $4.7 billion and is the chairman and founder of International Data Group (IDG).  Apparently he worked on the features staff of The MIT Tech newspapeer while at MIT.  Forbes credits him with learning the essence of customer service whilst there:  "...your job is to find customers and keep them happy...and doing all you can to make your customers successful", says McGovern. 

Other first jobs of today's Billionaires included talent agency trainee, TV set repairer, petrol station attendant, walnut bagger, audio and movie technical assistant and many more.

Ready for a paper route now? 

Maybe your children are?  In any case, the true test of your Billionaire potential seems to be what you achieved in that first job, and how you achieved it, rather than what kind of job it was.

Now, do you remember your first job?

Eye$ on Billionaire$

Do you like to keep your eyes on where the money is?


We do too!  We are students studying Commerce - Finance and Accounting - at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.  (Links are in green.)


Welcome to our BLOG:  Eye$ on Billionaire$


Developing and posting to this BLOG is part of our assessment for the subject IT & Society.  Why visit this BLOG regularly?  Well:  over the next five weeks we will be posting regular updates on the topic of "The World's Billionaires", including:

- How to assess if you are Billionaire material?
- What educational qualifications might help make you a Bilionaire?
- Who are the world's top Billionaires and why?
- How do Billionaires make comebacks?


Did you know, for example, that 69 business professionals in India entered the Billionaire's list in the second half of 2010?  Interested? We hope so.


Positive feedback welcomed

If you agree, please do leave appropriate and respectful comments about our topic "The World's Billionaires" in the box below.  It'd be great if you could take a moment to do the poll (above left) as well.


All the best, and remember:  keep your Eye$ on Billionaire$!


Here's the planning thumbnail of this BLOG we developed just the other day at the University Library: