Terrance Watanabe Net Worth, spouse, young children, awards, movies

$150,000,000

Terrance ‘Terry’ Watanabe is an American businessman who had a peak net worth of $500 million. When he was 20 years old, Watanabe became the CEO of his father’s plastic party favor and trinket company, which he turned into a thriving $300 million a year mail-order party supply business. However, Watanabe’s fame took a turn when his compulsive gambling addiction led him to lose most of his fortune, resulting in a net worth estimated at $204 million in losses.

Key facts:

Terrance 'Terry' Watanabe is an American businessman who became CEO of the Oriental Trading Company founded by his father.

Under Watanabe's leadership, the company expanded from a small gift shop in Omaha, Nebraska to a thriving $300 million dollar a year mail-order party supply and decoration business.

After selling his stake in Oriental Trading Company, Watanabe developed a compulsive gambling addiction and famously lost up to $5 million dollars per day while gambling at casinos in Las Vegas.

Watanabe's gambling losses totaled around $204 million, making him one of the biggest losers in Las Vegas history.

Harrah's Entertainment, Inc casinos reported that 5.6% of their gambling revenues in one year came from Watanabe's losses, leading to criminal charges of fraud and theft being filed against him.