Mattel, Inc.
Poland → USA
Agriculture, Food & Consumer Goods
Summary
Mattel was founded in 1945 in a Los Angeles garage by Ruth Handler, born Ruth Marianna Mosko in Denver in 1916, the tenth child of Jacob and Ida Mosko, Polish-Jewish immigrants who had arrived in the United States in 1907. With her husband Elliot Handler and Harold “Matt” Matson — whose first name supplied half the company name — Ruth co-founded Mattel after the Second World War. In 1959, watching her daughter Barbara play with paper dolls, she conceived the Barbie doll, named for her daughter. Barbie became the bestselling toy in history; Mattel is the world’s second-largest toy manufacturer.
European Contribution
Polish-Jewish immigrant entrepreneurial drive and the cultural imagination of a family marked by displacement and reinvention.
American Impact
Created the Barbie doll, one of the defining cultural artefacts of post-war America; built one of the world's largest toy companies.
Timeline Highlights
- 1907 Mosko parents emigrate from Poland
- 1916 Ruth Handler born in Denver
- 1945 Mattel co-founded in Los Angeles
- 1959 Barbie doll launched
- 1968 Hot Wheels introduced