Beach Bum Billionaire

Beach Bum Billionaire

This year, Forbes counted 2,640 people on its annual World’s Billionaires List released in April, including the troubadour who turned his carefree, island vibe into a branding business that stamped the Margaritaville name on restaurants, hotels and casinos into a $1 billion fortune.
“I knew Margaritaville was a hit, but there are lots of hit records. They knew before I did that it was an annuity, it was not just a song. It took me awhile to figure that out. Jimmy Buffett Burgers were popping up everywhere,” Buffett said to Forbes about his early efforts to build the Margaritaville brand.
“The lawyers and the business men, they wanted me to fight every one of them and I just thought I got better things to do with my time. It all started because I didn’t know if I was still going to be a viable act. I didn’t realize until later that I’d put my thumb on the generic pulse of people who associated that lifestyle with that song.”