Hello Kitty is famously the height of just five apples. But these days, the more striking statistic is that she’s worth more than ¥1 trillion — or $6.5 billion.
Stock in Japan’s Sanrio hit that milestone for the first time recently, just weeks before the company’s feline star turned 50. Kitty White was born on Nov. 1, 1974, when she first appeared on a vinyl coin purse that quickly helped her became a national sensation in Japan.
Half a century later, she’s not just big business in Sanrio’s home country: Hello Kitty is the second highest-grossing media franchise in the world, according to TitleMax, earning more than the likes of "Harry Potter" or "Star Wars."
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