Hugh Hefner

Hugh Marston Hefner (b. April 9, 1926) entered the American cultural scene as the founder and editor of Playboy magazine in November 1953. That original $8,000 investment soon mushroomed into a multimillion dollar entertainment empire now known as Playboy Enterprises, Inc. By the 1960s Playboy was selling over a million copies a month. On the heels of his wildly successful publishing venture Hefner created a one-of-a-kind lifestyle for himself that resembled an enchanted world: The Playboy Mansion. Hefner described his vision for Playboy as "a wish book devoted to men's dreams and fantasies. When I moved into the Playboy Mansion," he went on to say, "I began living out those fantasies." For over fifty years now Playboy magazine has remained a popular publishing sensation and Hefner’s own personal life seems a one-of-a-kind American phenomenon.