Family That "Invested" $100,000 On Beanie Babies Is Now Broke

DM — A film director has documented how his family went bankrupt after his father became obsessed with Beanie Babies. Chris Robinson’s father started collecting the cuddly toys in the belief they would make a great investment. But the Los Angeles family realised there was a problem when, after spending $100,000 on the stuffed animals, there was still no return on the investment. Mr Robinson has now filmed his family as they talk about the years spent collecting the Beanie Babies, in a bid to make enough money to send the three sons to college. His film, Bankrupt by Beanies, shows how his father’s obsession consumed the family’s activities as they attempted to collect as many as they could.

Know who doesn’t get enough credit in this world? Ty Warner, the creator of the Beanie Baby. One of the most brilliant business minds in history. Up there with the Rockefellers and the Buffetts. Do people remember what a big deal these things were? Like you can’t even fault the Robinson family for this, for spending their life savings on stuffed animals. Because they weren’t alone in their thinking. Somehow, someway Ty Warner convinced America that toys were what you needed to be investing in. That little fucking animals were the new gold bars. It was insane. For 2 or 3 years in the 90’s, Beanie Babies were a currency. My sister and I used to have my dad running all over the place trying to buy us the rare ones. Convinced him that they would pay for our college education 10 times over. He’d say dumb shit like “What about these iPod things? Apple may be a better investment,” and we’d say “Shut the fuck up you idiot, have you seen the platypus Beanie Baby?! That will be worth a million dollars in 2002.” So I could call the Robinsons morons, but there’s an attic full of Beanie Babies at the Feitelberg house and we’re just waiting for the right time to sell.