Fun Facts That Are

Apple co-founder Ronald Wayne sold his 10% share in 1976 for $800. Today, that stake would be worth over $300 billion.

A woman in New York sold her house for $650,000 after spending years telling magazines it was haunted by poltergeists. She forgot to mention the ghosts to the buyer. He sued. A New York court ruled: "As a matter of law, the house is haunted." Law schools teach it as the Ghostbusters Ruling.

George Lucas accepted $150,000 to direct Star Wars and waived a $500,000 raise. In exchange, he kept merchandising and sequel rights. Fox thought they were worthless after losing a fortune on Doctor Dolittle merch. Star Wars merchandise has made over $20 billion. Lucas sold to Disney for $4.05 billion.

Ronald Read worked as a gas station attendant and then a janitor at JCPenney in Brattleboro, Vermont. He held his coat together with safety pins. Someone once offered to pay for his meal, assuming he could not afford it. When he died at 92 in 2014, his estate was worth nearly $8 million - all from decades of quietly buying blue-chip stocks. He left $4.8 million to the local hospital and $1.2 million to the library.

In 2004, four lifeguards were swimming off Ocean Beach, New Zealand when a pod of seven dolphins suddenly herded them into a tight group and started circling. For 40 minutes, the dolphins swam inches from their bodies, slapping the water with their tails. When one swimmer tried to break away, two dolphins pushed him back. Only then did he spot the 9-foot great white shark circling two metres below them.

Robert Downey Jr. credits a disgusting Burger King burger with saving his life. In 2003, driving along the Pacific Coast Highway with drugs in his car, he stopped for a burger. It was so bad he told Empire magazine he thought "something really bad was going to happen." He drove to the ocean and threw every drug he had into the water.

Howard Schultz offered Shaq a Starbucks franchise deal in the late 1990s. Shaq told him: "Black people don't drink coffee, sir. I don't think it's gonna work." Magic Johnson took the deal instead, opened 105 Starbucks in underserved communities, and sold his stake for an estimated $100 million. Shaq calls it his biggest mistake.

Will Smith turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix because the Wachowskis' pitch confused him. He chose Wild Wild West instead. The Matrix launched a $1.7 billion franchise. Wild Wild West won five Razzie Awards including Worst Picture. Smith later admitted: "I probably would've messed it up."

Alec Guinness thought so little of Star Wars that he called it "fairy-tale rubbish" and complained "none of the dialogue makes my character clear or even bearable." He negotiated 2.25% of the gross revenue. His roughly 20 minutes of screen time in the original film earned him an estimated $95 million over his lifetime. His estate is believed to still collect royalties.

Everyone thinks the McDonalds hot coffee lawsuit was a joke. Stella Liebeck was 79. The coffee was 190 degrees - hot enough to cause third-degree burns in 3 seconds. She needed skin grafts. She only asked for $20,000. McDonalds offered $800.

Billy Joel never sells front row tickets. He sends his crew to find real fans in the cheapest seats and moves them to the front row. He was tired of "bored, rich people" staring up at him.

Elvis wanted to record "I Will Always Love You." His manager Colonel Tom Parker called Dolly Parton and said there was one condition - hand over 50% of the publishing rights. Dolly said no. Years later, Whitney Houston covered it for The Bodyguard. Dolly earned over $10 million from that single cover. She later joked she made enough money to buy Graceland.