When you are a billionaire, you have a few more options than most people. Take Ty Warner of Chicago.
He’s the entrepreneur who launched the Beanie Babies craze 35 years ago, and he’s turned those little toys Into a pop culture icon.
Here’s the problem for this year, though; they are made in China and shipped here on boats generally, which means the potential was there for a bunch of kids being disappointed on Christmas due to the global shipping crisis.
Well, Warner solved that problem in a way that only a billionaire baller could do. He has booked over 150 cargo flights that will come out of Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, and he’s been airlifting Beanie Babies to the U.S. since October.
That’s a 6,000-mile one-way trip, all to avoid the congestion at the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports.
The primary warehouse for Ty Inc is in suburban Chicago. That’s where the millions of Beanie Babies land and then are distributed to retailers all over the country.
These flights aren’t cheap – each cost between $1.5 and $2 million.
Oh, and props to Warner for not being a Scrooge – he has not raised the price of the toys to cover the costs.
“Christmas is not cancelled,” Warner said.
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