Laughing All the Way to the Bank Quiz

Answer: Liberace

Liberace was the undisputed king of kitsch. He was wearing bling before bling was invented, and when Elvis and The Beatles were at the height of their popularity he was the highest paid entertainer in the world. In 1955 he was earning $50,000 a week in Las Vegas.

He once stated he didn't put on concerts, he gave shows, and he certainly lived up to that. Some critics were harsh about his actual piano playing expertise, but to his legions of fans he was beyond criticism.

Answer: Bill Gates

The 640k quote was said at a computer trade show in 1981; he was referring to computer memory.

For 13 years Bill Gates was, according to Forbes Rich List, the world's richest man. He slipped to number three in 2008. Now Chairman of Microsoft he devotes much of his time to charitable activities. In 2000 he created the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which has given over $28 billion to charitable causes around the world.

Richard Branson founded Virgin.
Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook.
James Dyson invented the bagless vacuum cleaner.

Answer: Richard O'Brien

The show is, of course, "The Rocky Horror Show". The film of the show, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (1975) had only a limited release but quickly gained a cult following as a midnight movie. The musical opened in London in June 1973 and was being performed somewhere in the world all the time for the next three decades, with many of the fans donning high heels, basques and fishnets, and many of the girls dress up as well. Richard O'Brien certainly has no need to fear his Bank Manager.

Answer: Wind up radio

The wind up radio was invented for use in areas that had no electricity and no access to batteries and has been widely distributed in the poorest parts of Africa. It gave Trevor Baylis international recognition, an OBE and 11 Honorary Doctorates.
His invention of wind up shoes that produce and store a small electrical charge as you walk, will then give enough power for a cell phone or small radio. Much of the money earned from his inventions has gone into helping other inventors with advice on dealing with Patents, manufacturing, marketing etc.

Answer: eBay

Mr Omidyar is a computer programmer who realised that a programme could be written to put buyers and sellers together and eBay was born. Today it provides a primary or secondary income for thousands of people worldwide and is used by thousands more to find a bargain, an elusive item, or just to make a fast profit on a hard to get event ticket.

Amazon was started by Jeff Bezos.
Yahoo was started by Jerry Yang and David Filo.
Facebook was started by Mark Zuckerberg.

Answer: Richard Branson

Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group of Companies, started his business career at the age of 16 with a student magazine. Next he imported records which he sold from the boot of his car and by mail order. He eventually opened a record shop in Oxford Street, London, which earnt him enough money to buy a large house, part of which he turned into a recording studio, and launch Virgin Records.

The Virgin brand grew to over 360 companies including an airline and a finance company.

Answer: Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson had it all. His ferocious boxing style saw him win his first 19 fights by knockout, 12 in the first round. Fortune and fame followed, but he was accused of sexual assault and spent 3 years in prison for rape, and after his release he was never quite the same fighting machine, although he did regain a portion of the heavyweight title in 1996.

After earning over $300 million in his career, which should have had him laughing all the way to several banks, Tyson was declared bankrupt in 2003.

Answer: Sebastian Coe

Sebastian Coe had an outstanding athletics career winning World, European, Commonwealth and Olympic medals. His rivalry with Steve Ovett was a highlight of the athletics scene in the late 1970s/early 1980s. At one time in 1980 he held the world records for 800 metres, 1500 metres, 1 mile and 1000 metres simultaneously. However this feat lasted only one hour as Steve Ovett broke the 1 mile record the very same evening. Knighted in 2000 for services to sport he was instrumental in the 2012 Olympic Games being awarded to London. He owns a string of healthclubs and is a multimillionaire.

Steve Ovett and Steve Cram are both 1500 metre champions.
Chris Chataway was a pacemaker in the first sub 4 minute mile and was a member of parliament for the Conservative Party.

Answer: Barbara Cartland

Barbara Cartland wrote romantic novels at a prodigious rate. The men were always dashing and handome, the women beautiful and chaste. She is reputed to have sold over 1 billion books worldwide, earning her a handsome fortune. She was always seen swathed in chiffon, usually pink, and with very heavy make-up and immovable hair. Her daughter, Raine, married Lord Spencer and was stepmother to Diana, Princess of Wales.

Catherine Cookson, Phillipa Gregory and Danielle Steele are all well known romantic novelists.

Answer: Charles Wells

In July 1891 Wells went to Monte Carlo with with £4,000 that he had gained fraudulently by persuading people to invest in a bogus invention. In one session he broke the bank 12 times, winning over a million francs. He returned to Monte Carlo again in November of that year and over 3 days made another million francs. The Casino hired private detectives, but never discovered his system. Wells always claimed it was just luck. In 1892 Wells was arrested for fraud, tried at the Old Bailey and sentenced to 8 years in prison. Further prison sentences in England and France followed. He died broke, in Paris, in 1926.

Jospeh Jagger was a well known gambler at around the same time as Charles Wells.
Charles Coborn performed the song "The Man Who Broke The Bank At Monte Carlo".
Fred Gilbert wrote "The Man Who Broke The Bank At Monte Carlo".