Isaac Larian facts for kids

Isaac Larian (Persian: اسحاق لاریان, born March 28, 1954) is an American businessman. He was born in Iran. Isaac Larian is the founder and CEO of MGA Entertainment. This company is one of the largest privately owned toy companies in the world.

Isaac Larian's Early Life and Education

Isaac Larian was born in Esfahan, Iran, in 1954. His family was Jewish. When he was four years old, his family moved to Tehran. They lived in a neighborhood called Narmak. Isaac started working in his father's small textile shop when he was just nine years old.

In 1971, at age 17, Isaac came to the United States. He came alone, looking for new chances. He had only $750 and could not speak English. He found a job as a dishwasher, earning $1.65 an hour. Later, he became a bus-boy and then a waiter.

After working for a year, Isaac started college. He first went to Los Angeles Southwest College. Then, he transferred to California State University, Los Angeles. He graduated in 1978 with a degree in civil engineering.

Starting His Business Career

Isaac Larian had planned to go back to Iran. But the 1979 Iranian Revolution changed his plans. So, he started a mail-order company. It was called Surprise Gift Wagon. This company sold decorative brass items from Asia. It was not very successful.

Later, Isaac and his brother Fred started a new company. They focused on importing electronics. This company was later named ABC Electronics. In 1987, they became a distributor for Nintendo. This meant they helped sell Nintendo products. In 1993, they got a license for the "Power Rangers" toys. This allowed them to make and sell Power Rangers products. By 1997, toys became their main focus. Their first big success was a toy called Singing Bouncy Baby.

Building MGA Entertainment

In 1998, Isaac Larian changed his company's name to MGA Entertainment. In 2001, MGA created the famous "Bratz" doll. These dolls became very popular. By 2005, Bratz dolls made $800 million in sales. This was more than their main competitor, Barbie dolls, which made $445 million.

MGA Entertainment grew by adding more toy brands. In November 2006, MGA bought Little Tikes. This company makes toys for toddlers and preschoolers. In 2010, MGA released another successful doll line called "Lalaloopsy".

There was a big legal case between MGA and Mattel (the company that makes Barbie). Mattel claimed that the Bratz doll designer had worked for them first. MGA said Mattel tried to hurt their business. In 2011, a court ordered Mattel to pay MGA a large amount of money. This was for things like stealing trade secrets.

Trying to Save Toys "R" Us

In March 2018, Isaac Larian tried to buy parts of Toys "R" Us. This happened after the toy store chain announced it was going out of business. Isaac started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money. He put $200 million of his own money into it. The goal was to raise $1 billion.

The money would be used to buy some of the Toys "R" Us stores. On April 13, Isaac offered $890 million. This bid was to buy 274 Toys "R" Us stores in the US. It also included 82 stores in Canada.

Personal Life and Awards

Isaac Larian is married and has three children. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

He has received important awards for his business success. In 2004, he won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for consumer products. He was also named the overall national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2007.