13 Absurd Ways People Have Made a Fortune

They don’t ask how… They ask how much.
13 Absurd Ways People Have Made a Fortune

It’s hard to judge a multi-millionaire for how they amassed their fortune. Unless it was from some dastardly scheme that fucked people over (like some cartoon villain). Any other way that didn’t hurt anyone or exploit anything along the way is A-Okay with us! If anything, we admire the creativity here. These entrepreneurs didn’t go the standard small business or finance route. They drummed up some zany idea, and their gut told them that there was a silly old slice of the market for it. And by golly, they were right!

Finding success with a standard, no-nonsense business is hard enough as it is. Practicality isn’t necessarily a safe bet, so you might as well try an unorthodox approach (if the idea strikes). And yes, these may be some odd, downright silly ways to make a fortune, but the fortune was made, and that’s really all that matters. Here are 13 of the oddest ways people have made some serious dough!

Head to HireGoats.com for all your grass munching needs.

CRACKED RENTING GOATS. Dozens of companies rent goats for munching on and eradicating invasive plants, and creating fire breaks to stop the spread of wildfires. It costs between $400 and $800 per acre, and a company can earn up to $600,000 per year.

Hire Goats

How did he think a pet rock would sell? And how did it sell?!

CRACKED PET ROCKS. Perhaps the most famous get rich quick scheme of all time was Gary Dahl's Pet Rock in 1975. Literally putting eyes on a rock, he sold 1.5 million of them in 6 months (at about $1 profit per rock), before the fad completely faded into nostalgia. INSTRUCTION BOOK IMPORTANT Open box carafully DO NOT remive ruck before reading instructions NET THE PET ROCK This box contains one genuine pedigreed PET ROCK 2010 Rock in The Des Productions

Mental Floss

Good thing he sold this baseball before the scandal!

CRACKED SELLING A BASEBALL. In 1998, Mark McGwire set the all-time record with his 70th home run of the season. Philip Ozersky caught the ball, and sold it for over $3 million. Since McGwire's steroid scandal, the ball's value drastically decreased to roughly $250,000. Cardinals

CBS Sports

Man, people love their dogs.

CRACKED SELLING DOG GOGGLES. After the sun got in her dog's eyes while playing frisbee, Roni Di Lullo invented dog-specific goggles (Doggles) and secured a patent. Now, more than $3 million of Doggles are sold annually. Available Now! DogglesILS™ 100%UVProtection -InterchangeableLenses Anti-Shatter - Anti-Fog Shop Here 10 U BL SHA PR

Doggles

At least one person found a-peeling. Sorry.

CRACKED SELLING A BANANA TAPED TO A WALL. At the Art Basel art fair in Miami, Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's piece titled Comedian (a banana duct-taped to a wall) sold for $120,000. The point of the piece was to question what art is.

RD

Huffing popcorn pays!

CRACKED SUING A POPCORN COMPANY. Wayne Watson sued Glister-Mary Lee popcorn after experiencing lung problems from fumes he inhaled from his two-bag a day habit. Не won a $7 million lawsuit and the additive that caused the lung issues was removed from their popcorn. 5:02 83 04HD cbodywart.com

CBS

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