$1 billion. Approximate sales revenues generated by inventor Ron Popeil’s Showtime Rotisserie BBQ. “Seven years ago, entrepreneur Ron Popeil, the silver-tongued inventor of such iconic products as the Pocket Fisherman and the Food Dehydrator, introduced the Showtime Rotisserie BBQ. After prepping a chicken and placing it in the oven, [inventor Ron] Popeil delivered his next legendary tagline. Like most of his pitches, it blended pithy salesmanship and utter simplicity. And almost immediately, the catchphrase — “Just set it and forget it” — entered the pop-culture vernacular. Indeed, the compact countertop oven (purchased for four easy payments of $39.95, plus tax and shipping) turned into the biggest hit in Popeil’s hugely successful home-gadget empire. Since the launch, Popeil says he’s sold about 7 million Showtime ovens, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue. “People just love it to such a degree that strangers walk up to me and tell me, ‘i love my rotisserie,'” he says. “See the Chop-O-Matic. Successful inventors and successful inventions.. Invention success stories. How much money can an invention make? individual inventor success stories. (“He invents! Markets! Makes Millions!,” Business Week, October 3, 2005)

$400 million. High-end range as of the year 2000 of estimated royalty revenues earned by the inventor Lonnie Johnson for his Super Soaker invention. Super Soaker sales. “In the 12 years since [inventor Lonnie Johnson] first got U.S. Patent No. 4,591,071 for the ‘squirt gun,’ as it is listed in official government records, more than 200 million Super Soakers have been sold. Revenue estimates for the gun range as high as $400 million. ‘Lonnie is the American success story,’ says Dick Apley, director of independent inventor programs for the U.S. Patent Office.” How much do iventors get paid? Invention licensing successes. (Timothy Roche, “Lonnie Johnson,” Time, Sunday, December 3, 2000)

$250 million. Sales revenues generated by the Slinky invention since 1945. “The Slinky is one of the top 10 toys ever invented, with sales topping 250 million since it first went on the market in 1945. A mechanical engineer by the name of Richard James got the idea for this new toy when he saw a torsion spring fall off a table, and then he turned to his wife, Betty, for a name. “Invention sales revenues. Inventor success stories: Richard James. (Bob Edwards, “Profile: History of the Slinky, now being inducted into the Smithsonian,” NPR Morning Edition, February 2, 2001) In February 2001, Betty James, Slinky’s co-creator, was inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame.