Grumpy Cat has died, but she left quite a legacy. She’s one of the first pets to make big money for its owner as a successful influencer.
Soon after, she landed a deal with Nestlé Purina’s Friskies pet food brand, starred in her own Lifetime movie called «Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever,» and even had her likeness become a permanent Madame Tussauds wax figure. Grumpy Cat merchandise can be found in Hot Topic and Walmart.
Grumpy Cat was such a big shot that she even had legal troubles. Last year, Grumpy Cat Limited — the company founded by Bryan Bundesen to handle Grumpy’s business — won more than $700,000 in damages from a beverage company that had licensed Grumpy Cat to sell a line of iced coffees called Grumppuccinos. Grumpy Cat Limited claimed the company violated the licensing deal by selling unauthorized Grumppuccino T-shirts.
The cat’s owner has never disclosed how much Grumpy is worth, and her owner, business manager, and meme agent did not respond to CNN Business requests for comment for this story. In a 2014 interview with the Huffington Post, Tabatha Bundesen shot down a report that Grumpy had earned $100 million.
Bryan Bundesen told CNN in 2013 that they wanted Grumpy «to become the next feline icon that stands the test of time like Garfield has.» He also said at that time that the cat had already earned «six figures» in five months through its licensing deals.
