For every 2,016 ounces of
@listerine sold,
@jnj pays $6 to Listerine’s royalty holders
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The inventor of Listerine, Joseph Joshua Lawrence, created a formula that could clean and disinfect wounds. It didn’t catch on and he licensed it out to Jordan Wheat Lambert
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The agreement was for every 144 bottles sold, $6 would go to Lawrence or his heirs, FOREVER. Neither man could have imagined 140 years later Listerine would be doing $500m globally
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When Lambert died, his son took over and changed Listerine from an antiseptic to a mouthwash
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Lawrence’s only heir, his 15 year old granddaughter, ran away and married Russell Hopkins, who came from a wealthy banking family
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When Lawrence died, Vera Hopkins became the direct inheritor, right when Listerine became the first over the counter mouthwash and sales were exploding
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From 1909-1928 the Hopkins family received $4m ($65m today) in royalties
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When Vera and Russell died, their 4 children divided the royalties, with the son John Randolph Hopkins, getting the most
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John Randolph owned multiple yachts, a private pilot and Tarpon Island off the coast of Palm Beach
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In 1950 he was indicted and pled guilty to tax fraud, sold his stake in Listerine to John J Reynolds, and was admitted to a mental hospital
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Reynolds sold his shares to The Catholic Archdiocese of New York and they made $13m in 16 yrs
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In 1966, the archdiocese sold stake to pension funds, colleges and hospitals
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Today, the group of Listerine owners includes universities, Catholic dioceses, wealthy individuals, environmental non profits and more
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One of those owners is Fisk University.
@fiskuniversity made $121.7k from Listerine royalties in 2016
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#FiskAndListerine
#InvestWisely
#FiskUniversity
#Listerine
#HBCUGradExclusive
#HBCUGrad 🎓
