H. Ty Warner (born September 3, 1944) is an American billionaire toy manufacturer, businessman, and former actor. He is the CEO, sole owner and founder of Ty Inc. which manufactures and distributes stuffed toys, including Beanie Babies and other lines. He is also the owner of Four Seasons Hotel New York, which he bought with profits earned selling Beanie Babies during a fad in the late 1990s. In 2020, he was No. 359 on the Forbes 400 list of the richest people in America, with a net worth of US$2.3 billion. Biography Early life and career Warner was born on September 3, 1944, in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in suburban La Grange, in a Prairie-style house designed in the early 1890s by Frank Lloyd Wright, now known as the Peter Goan House. His father was Harold "Hal" Warner, a jeweler and toy salesman. His mother was Georgia Warner, a pianist. He has a much younger sister, Joyce. He was named after baseball player Ty Cobb. At the age of 14, Warner went to Lyons Township High School (north campus) in La Grange, Illinois. He then went to St. John's Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin and graduated in 1962. Warner attended Kalamazoo College in Michigan but dropped out after a year. Warner's relationships with both parents were strained. Georgia was noted for erratic and sometimes abusive or dangerous behavior and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in the 1970s. When Ty was an adult and his parents divorced, he was said to have attempted to seduce several of his father's girlfriends out of jealousy or competitiveness. 1980–1993 Warner moved to Los Angeles to start a career in acting. He had little success as an actor and returned to Chicago after five years. There he began working for plush toy maker Dakin as a salesman, the same company where his father worked. He was described by a former co-worker as possessing "uncanny" instincts as a salesman to retail shops, knowing which items would be most successful. In 1980, he was fired by Dakin, reportedly for selling his own products to established customers in competition with the company's line. After spending a three-year sabbatical in Italy, Warner returned to Chicago. In 1986, he mortgaged his home and invested his life savings and a bequest from his father into founding Ty Inc. Warner started out selling stuffed toy cats (inspired by some plush he