had seen in Italy). 1993–2004 In 1993, Ty Inc. launched Beanie Babies, a series of small plush toys shaped like various animals. He focused on selling the $5 or $10 Beanie Babies to small independent toy stores rather than large retailers like Toys R Us, Target, or Walmart, preferring to have multiple small clients rather than a handful of large ones. He drove up demand by artificially restricting items shipped to each store below requested orders, and by creating deliberate shortages by discontinuing old items and introducing new ones in an essentially arbitrary manner rather than the more common toy industry pattern of releasing new items once or twice a year. A secondary market developed when collectors began reselling the toys at greatly inflated prices, and various books, magazines, and accessories like carrying cases devoted to Beanie Babies appeared. At the peak of the Beanie craze circa 1999, the privately owned Ty Inc. is believed to have earned over $700 million in profits in a year. The Beanie Babies phenomenon, coupled with the rise of the Internet, is cited as elevating Warner to billionaire status with a net worth of over $2.5 billion. Pioneering Internet sales Lina Trivedi was a college student when she worked at Ty Inc. and she approached Warner to talk about a new development that existed on college campuses called the Internet. She indicated that the Internet was primarily a research tool, however, college students were starting to make personal websites and she thought creating a website for Beanie Babies could present an unprecedented opportunity to engage the market uniquely. She brought to Ty's office a 14.4k modem and demonstrated how the Internet works. Mr. Warner was intrigued and gave Trivedi a free license to create a website using her judgment and skills. By the time the first iteration of the Ty website was published in late 1995, only 1.4% of Americans were using the Internet. The population of people using the Internet grew exponentially in the following years, along with the popularity of Beanie Babies. 2004–present In 2007, Ty Inc. went head to head with MGA Entertainment, the makers of the Bratz dolls, with the release of the Ty Girlz dolls and virtual world. He also has significant investments in hotels, property and golf courses. Ty Warner Hotels and Resorts include the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City; the Sandpiper Golf Course in Santa