Taking Beanie Babies to the Bank: Warner’s Company Takes Off

The company had humble beginnings, with its office being housed inside an industrial park in Oak Brook, Illinois. His first order of business was to take a trip to Korea to find a production plant that would produce his line of plush toys. He then hired two assistants to help him take his company off the ground - two women who remain with the company today.

Once everything was in place, Warner produced his first line of products - ten affordable plush cats not unlike the ones he had first seen in Italy. Each of the ten cats was given a unique name, such as Angel Peaches or Smokey, as well as a different colour and size. "Kids identify with names," said Warner. "In the beginning, I thought of the cute names. Now I take them into the office and everyone makes suggestions."

The cats retailed for $20 each and proved an instant hit at toy fairs across the country. At one Atlanta Toy Fair, Warner managed to sell 30,000 cats within one hour. It was then that he knew he was onto something big.

In 1991, Warner launched the new Collectable Bears Series, a limited edition of plush toys that had individually numbered stripes sewn onto their feet. The next year Warner released a catalogue that offered a wide range of plush toys, including dogs, monkeys, and farm animals ranging in price from $5 to $20. After being launched in 1993, the original nine Beanie Babies were already in ‘ma and pop shops' across the country less than one year later.

In just a few years, Beanie Babies had become something of a cult phenomenon, while Warner himself became a billionaire. At their peak, Ty Inc. was pulling in more than $700 million in profits a year. Warner followed Beanie Babies with the also successful Ty Girlz.

Beyond toys, Warner has involved himself in the real estate market, making significant investments in hotels, property and golf courses, including the Four Seasons Hotel in New York, the Four Seasons Resort in Santa Barbara, and even the historic Miramar Resort for $45 million.

Today, Warner continues to serve as the reclusive Chairman, CEO and sole owner of Ty Inc. With a net worth of $4.4 billion, he remains one of the wealthiest people in the world. Still, he continues to live in his home in Oak Brook, Illinois, and acts as a generous philanthropist, donating one million Beanie Babies for children in Iraq, and more than $300 million worth of toys for a Red Cross blood drive.