Hefner started Playboy after being denied a $5-a-week raise
Playboy founder Hugh Hefner quit his job at 'Esquire' magazine after he was denied a $5-a-week raise. He then launched the Playboy magazine in December 1953 by mortgaging his furniture for a $600 bank loan. Hefner, who was born on April 9, 1926, holds a Guinness World Record for the longest career as an editor-in-chief for the same magazine. 