What was Ruth Handler's net worth?
Ruth Handler was an American businesswoman and inventor who had a net worth of $100 million at the time of her death. Ruth Handler revolutionized the toy industry as the creator of the Barbie doll and co-founder of Mattel, one of the world's largest toy manufacturers. In 1959, she introduced Barbie, named after her daughter Barbara, creating what would become the best-selling toy in history and a global cultural icon. Beyond Barbie's creation, Handler was a pioneering businesswoman who helped build Mattel from a small garage operation into a Fortune 500 company. After battling breast cancer, she went on to found Nearly Me, a company producing prosthetic breasts for mastectomy patients, demonstrating her continued entrepreneurial spirit. Ruth Handler passed away from complications of surgery for colon cancer at 85 years of age on April 27, 2002. Ruth was portrayed by Rhea Perlman in the 2023 movie "Barbie."
Early Life and Business Beginnings
Born in 1916 to Polish-Jewish immigrants in Denver, Colorado, Ruth Mosko grew up working in her family's drug store. She married Elliot Handler in 1938, and the couple moved to Los Angeles where they partnered with Harold Matson to form Mattel in 1945. The name is a play on "Mat" in "Matson" and "El" in "Elliot." The company initially produced picture frames, but Elliot's side business of making dollhouse furniture from frame scraps proved more profitable, leading the company to shift its focus to toys. The company generated $2 million in revenue just a few years after launching.
Building Mattel
Under the Handlers' leadership, Mattel introduced several innovative toys in the 1940s and 1950s. Their breakthrough came with the "Uke-a-doodle," a toy ukulele, and the "Music Box Jack-in-the-Box." The company's success grew significantly when they became the first toy company to advertise on television, sponsoring "The Mickey Mouse Club" in 1955. They invested $500,000 to be the show's primary sponsor. It was all of the money the company had at the time and the modern equivalent of nearly $6 million. The ads were an enormous success. This revolutionary marketing strategy increased sales 25% and helped establish Mattel as an industry leader.
Creation of Barbie & Other Successes
The inspiration for Barbie came when Handler observed her daughter Barbara playing with paper dolls, giving them adult roles rather than playing with baby dolls. During a trip to Switzerland, she encountered the Lilli doll, an adult-figured German doll, which helped crystallize her vision. Despite initial skepticism from male executives, Handler persisted in developing a three-dimensional adult fashion doll. Ruth's own husband Elliot infamously declared that "no mother is ever going to buy her daughter a doll with breasts." Barbie debuted at the 1959 New York Toy Fair, and though initially met with resistance, the doll became a phenomenal success, selling over $100 million worth of product by 1965.
In 1968, Mattel released its new line of toy cars. "Hot Wheels" soon became the #1 best-selling toy in the world, a distinction it continues to hold.
Challenges and Transformation
The Handlers took Mattel public in 1963 on the New York Stock Exchange. Today, it is traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "MAT." As of this writing, the company's market cap is $6 billion. In late 2013 the company's market cap hit an all-time high of $16 billion.
In 1970, Handler was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. This experience led her to create Nearly Me, a company producing prosthetic breasts designed to look and feel natural. Around the same time, Mattel faced financial difficulties, and in 1975, the Handlers were forced out of the company amid accusations of financial reporting irregularities. Though this marked the end of her time at Mattel, Handler's entrepreneurial spirit remained undimmed.
In 1978, Ruth Handler and other Mattel executives were indicted on charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, and providing false financial statements to the SEC. They were accused of manipulating Mattel's financial records to inflate earnings and deceive investors. Handler pleaded no contest to the charges, resulting in a $57,000 fine and 2,500 hours of community service.
(MATT CAMPBELL/AFP/Getty Images)
Legacy and Later Years
Ruth Handler's impact extends far beyond the toy industry. Barbie has evolved to reflect changing social values, with the doll taking on various careers and roles that showed girls they could aspire to be anything. Through Nearly Me, Handler helped reduce the stigma around breast cancer and mastectomy, providing comfort to thousands of women. She detailed her life story in her 1994 autobiography "Dream Doll: The Ruth Handler Story."
Handler passed away in 2002 at age 85, but her legacy continues. Mattel remains one of the world's largest toy companies, and Barbie continues to evolve and adapt to changing times. The doll she created has been a mirror of society for over 60 years, reflecting changing fashion, careers, and social attitudes.
Personal Life
Ruth and her husband/business partner, Elliot Handler, were married from 1938 until her death in 2002. They had two children, Barbara (the namesake of "Barbie") and Kenneth (aka "Ken"). Elliot Handler died in 2011.
Malibu Dream House
In 1993, Ruth and Elliot bought an oceanfront home in the gated Malibu Colony private community. In 2015, a few years after Elliot's death, the Handler children sold the mansion for $9.8 million, after originally listing it for $15 million.
Los Angeles Penthouse
The Handler's primary residence was a 3,200-square-foot penthouse in Los Angeles that eventually became known as the "Barbie penthouse." The Handler's children sold the penthouse in August 2012 for $2 million. In August 2021, the penthouse's owner attempted to sell it for $10 million, but ultimately pulled the listing.
