“Give or take $100,000,000.” That is how Merv Griffin answered when 60 Minutes asked how rich he was. February 1989 He said he had about $200 million in cash and over $1 billion on paper The cash came from three years earlier, when he sold his production company and two game shows, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, to Coca-Cola for $250 million The money trail: 1963: he wrote a lullaby for his young son. By his own account, it took about 30 seconds 1964: it became the Jeopardy! theme 1986: Coca-Cola paid $250 million for his company and both shows 1987: the company made $140 million in profit, and about $40 million of it was his 1989: he bid $300 million for Resorts International in a hostile fight with Donald Trump 2005: he told The New York Times the theme alone had earned him $70 to $80 million in royalties Do the math. $70-80 million is roughly 28% to 32% of the $250 million Coca-Cola paid for the whole company The tune is still on every Jeopardy! episode. More than 10,000 so far In the video below, Griffin himself explains how rich he is Take $250 million in cash today, or keep a piece of it forever?