Top 20+ American inventions that earned millions

If you’ve ever tried inventing something, you know how hard it is to come up with a truly unique and successful idea. These 20 inventions were both unique and successful—and extremely profitable (though not always for the person who invented them).

The telephone

Alexander Graham Bell received his patent for the telephone in March 1876, which kicked off one of the longest patent battles in history, as others challenged his claim to be its sole inventor. Bell and his investors became millionaires; he went on to financially support other scientists and continued his work with the deaf. His invention revolutionized communications around the world.

The airplane

Orville and Wilbur Wright patented the first working airplane, the Wright Flyer, in 1906, setting off a frenzy of development in the field of aviation. Airplanes not only revolutionized the military but eventually made air travel accessible to the world. After Wilbur’s death from typhoid in 1912, Orville sold their company to investors in 1915 for $1.5 million.

The electric clothes-washing machine

The first electric clothes-washing machine was invented in 1911 by Lou Upton and his uncle Emory, who started the Upton Machine Company, now known as Whirlpool, a global corporation. Its invention changed the task of doing laundry from a days-long process to a relative pleasure for housewives and servants. Fun fact: model Kate Upton is Lou’s great-granddaughter.

Post-it notes

These iconic yellow stick-on paper squares were invented in 1974 by 3M’s Arthur Fry, using a lightly sticky adhesive developed by his colleague Spencer Silver in 1968. Fry intended them to serve as bookmarks for his choir music that wouldn’t rip the pages. Post-its are now in nearly every office, to the great joy of 3M, which was worth $126.1 billion in 2019.

The microwave oven

In 1947, Percy Spencer of the Raytheon Company was standing in front of a radar magnetron (which creates electromagnetic waves) when a candy bar in his pocket melted, sparking the idea for the microwave oven. Raytheon later acquired Amana Refrigeration, which sold the first commercial microwaves in 1967 for about $495. Grand View Research predicted the global market for microwave ovens will be worth $16.41 billion by 2030.

IBM personal computer

The name IBM has become synonymous with the term “PC” or personal computer. Though the IBM PC was not the very first home-use computer (that was the MITS Altair 8800), it was the most successful of its time, invented in 1981 by a group at IBM led by Bill Lowe in Boca Raton, Florida.

Coca-Cola

The world’s most popular caffeinated soft drink was invented in 1886 by John Pemberton, a pharmacist in Atlanta. Pemberton died in 1888, and sadly never saw the success (or wealth) generated by his invention, which was purchased by a man called Asa Griggs Candler in 1891. Candler helped to market Coca-Cola into a worldwide business worth over $80.83 billion in 2019.

Cell phone

Martin Cooper, an electrical engineer working for Motorola, invented the first mobile cell phone in 1973. Ten years later, the DynaTAC 8000x was rolled out to consumers, and even at a price of $3,995 per unit, was a huge success. Cooper then founded his own cell phone company, CBSI, which he later sold to Cincinnati Bell for $23 million.

Crocs

Everyone from gardeners to kindergartners wears Crocs! Friends and avid sailors Scott Seamans, George Boedecker, and Lyndon Hanson bought a design for rubber clogs from a Canadian company in 2002 and adapted it to create a shoe that’s adored by nurses, cooks, and people who like comfy feet. By their second year in business, they had sold $12.3 million worth of Crocs.

Automatic dishwasher

The first automatic dishwasher is credited to Josephine Cochrane in 1886, who was frustrated with servants chipping her dishes while washing them. Her wheel-shaped prototype was named top invention at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. Buoyed by this success, she opened the Crescent Washing Machine Company, later purchased by KitchenAid and now owned by multi-billion-dollar corporation Whirlpool.

Band-Aid bandages

Earle Dickson, who worked as a cotton buyer for Johnson and Johnson, invented Band-Aids in 1920 for his accident-prone wife, Josephine, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Dickson brought his idea to his boss, and soon the sticky bandages were a bestseller and he was named a vice-president of the company. The Band-Aid brand was worth $30 million in 2018.

Vacuum cleaner

The portable electric vacuum cleaner was invented by James Spangler in 1907 using a fan motor, soap box, broom handle, and pillowcase to catch dust. He sold his patent to William Hoover, who made it a huge success (Brits still say “hoover” when they mean vacuum!). That company was eventually acquired by Whirlpool.

Modern chewing gum

In 1871, Thomas Adams patented chewing gum made from chicle, a natural latex from the sapodilla tree. He was also the first to add flavors to gum (such as licorice and clove) and sell it from vending machines. By the 1930s, the American Chicle Company was listed as having capital of $5 million.

Bottle cap (crown cork)

In 1891, William Painter of Baltimore invented a better cap to seal bottles containing carbonated liquids: the crown cork, a metal lid lined with cork. He also developed a foot-powered device to press caps onto bottles quickly and effectively. Crown Cork and Seal still exists today (making metal cans for beverages).

Digital camera

Steven Sasson came up with the idea for the digital camera in 1975 while working for Eastman Kodak. The first consumer camera wasn’t sold until 18 years later, but the patent made billions of dollars for Kodak (and digital cameras are in every pocket now). Kodak went bankrupt in 2012, never having embraced the technology it invented, preferring to bet on film.

The pocket electronic calculator

If you’ve ever taken a calculus exam, thank Jack Kilby and his research group at Texas Instruments, who invented the handheld calculator in 1967. The machine used an integrated chip, a then-new technology using transistors made from a single crystal. Texas Instruments has sold calculators to millions of students (and accountants), and the company is still running today.

Nicotine patch

In 1990, pharmacologist Murray Jarvik and his colleagues at UCLA patented a patch to send nicotine into the body through the skin. The idea was licensed to Ciba-Geigy (now Novartis), which made hundreds of millions of dollars from sales of the patch. Jarvik’s research helped to determine that nicotine was the addictive ingredient in cigarettes and aided many in quitting the habit.

Photoshop

John and Thomas Knoll invented the photo-editing software in 1988 (originally calling it Display, then ImagePro) and licensed it to Adobe, which launched it in 1990. The company won’t reveal how much the software is worth, but made $4.8 billion overall in 2015. John Knoll also supervises visual effects for the Star Wars movies.

Potato chips

The invention of the potato chip is shrouded in mystery: An oft-repeated origin story about a chef in upstate New York has been debunked, and the identity of the true originator is lost to history. However, Herman Lay was the first to market chips nationwide in the USA, and made himself a fortune. They’re still a moneymaker: Frito-Lay generated sales of $1.82 billion for PepsiCo in 2018.

Safety pin

Walter Hunt invented the safety pin in 1849 while fidgeting with a piece of wire and worrying about paying off a debt. He sold the patent within days of creating it for $400, or $10,000 in today’s dollars, to the W.R. Grace and Company, which went on to make millions from these helpful metal pins.