Internet-Famous Doll Makes CEO $1.6B Richer
You see this tiny fanged gremlin-looking doll? Well, it just made someone $1.6 billion richer in a single day.
No, it's not AI. It's Labubu —a creepy-cute vinyl figure that looks like it crawled out of a dream you had after bingeing Tim Burton movies. And somehow, it's become the internet's newest obsession.
Labubu is part of a designer toy line called The Monsters, made by the Chinese company Pop Mart. The toy has been around for a while, quietly building a cult following.
From Rihanna casually strolling through LAX with a pink Labubu swinging from her bag, to fashion icon Bryanboy clipping one onto a rare Hermès platinum tote like it's no big deal—Labubu has officially gone from collectible toy to chaotic fashion accessory.
Labubu is part of a designer toy line called The Monsters, made by the Chinese company Pop Mart. The toy has been around for a while, quietly building a cult following.
by u/Lindseyszn in labubu
But things exploded when Pop Mart went public (again) on the Chinese A-share market on May 15, 2025. The result? A buying frenzy so intense it sent the company's valuation through the roof—enough to make its CEO Wang Ning $1.6 billion richer in just 24 hours. Yes, with a B.
Instagram: @nbcchicago
So, what's the big deal? Labubu is not just a toy—it is a phenomenon.
Think blind boxes you queue for at 6 a.m., limited editions that sell out in seconds, and resale prices that are climbing faster than concert tickets to a Taylor Swift show.
TikTok is flooded with unboxings, hauls, and collectors showing off rare Labubu designs like they're vintage Rolexes. People are calling themselves 'Labubu addicts' unironically. We've officially entered the era of designer toy mania.
Instagram: @backstitchbruja
Pop Mart isn't new to this game—it's had other hits like Molly and Dimoo. But Labubu is different. It's the breakout star.
There's something weirdly magnetic about the design—those jagged teeth, that wide-eyed stare, the chaotic energy it brings to your shelf. It taps into the part of your brain that finds ugly things cute and terrifying things comforting. And the internet is eating it up.
But it doesn't end here. The toy also has its own cryptocurrency. In the last 24 hours alone, it racked up $9.5 million in trading volume. And since May 14, the number of wallets holding $LABUBU has surged.
$LABUBU just keeps printing green candles everyday 📈 pic.twitter.com/1IvsxBVKHs
— LooksRekt (@Looks_Rekt) May 19, 2025
Twitter: @Looks_Rekt
Launched in 2024 on the Ethereum platform, the LABUBU coin is inspired by the chaotic little gremlin, originally created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung. What started as a collectible designer toy is now also a full-blown MEME coin. Translation? The internet's obsession has officially gone crypto.
What started in niche toy circles has now gone full cultural migration mode, popping up in the front rows of fashion week and on the arms of the stylish and unbothered. Thanks to the star stamp of approval, Labubu didn't just go global—it went viral with a passport.
Instagram: @timeoutdubai
In a way, it makes sense. We live in a world where niche becomes mainstream in a matter of days, and where emotional attachment to tiny plastic things is a real, bank-breaking phenomenon. Labubu isn't just merch—it's identity, serotonin, and status. And in a plot twist that's peak 2025, that vibe just made someone a billionaire.
So if you start seeing a little creature with wild hair and way too many teeth popping up on your feed, now you know: it's Labubu. It's weird. It's wonderful. And it's richer than all of us combined.
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CNN
13 hours ago
- CNN
Big hype, tiny plushie: Visualizing the Labubu craze in 5 charts
Labubus — the fluffy, sharp-toothed figurines adorning belt loops and bags across the globe — aren't just toys. They've become a cultural and commercial phenomenon. The creepy-cute collectibles, typically sold in 'blind boxes' that conceal the design inside, have gone from niche toy to global craze, propelling a revenue explosion at Pop Mart, the Chinese company behind the product. And for collectors chasing the rarest versions — like the elusive 'secret' Labubu — the price of obsession can add up fast. In 2024, the company reported revenue of more than $1.8 billion, including $420 million outside China, in part because of Labubu sales. CNN unpacks how this tiny plushie helped fuel a billion-dollar business. The furious interest in the brand has fueled many new offerings from Pop Mart for US customers in recent years, according to an analysis of the company's products, which lists release dates in their descriptions online. The cumulative number of dolls, figurines and related 'The Monsters' products, which includes Labubu, has more than doubled in recent years, according to a CNN analysis. Part of the demand is perhaps driven by a clever sales tactic. Popular Labubu blind boxes offer six possible designs — and a chance at a 'secret' variant. Pop Mart advertises that buyers have a 1-in-72 chance of unboxing these coveted versions. For collectors chasing those dolls, the price of obsession can theoretically add up fast. A CNN simulation found that scoring one could cost the average buyer around $2,000. To help illustrate how rare and potentially expensive these items can be, CNN used a computer script to simulate 10,000 buyers and how much they would need to spend before unboxing one. Some people in this mock sale got lucky early. Others had to keep buying — dozens, sometimes hundreds of times — to succeed. Despite the boom in demand and new products, availability at Pop Mart's online and retail stores hasn't kept pace. The company lists nearly 100 products in its 'The Monsters' series on its website for US customers. Yet only a handful of the toys were in stock this week, when a flash sale of two of the company's most popular Labubus sold out rapidly. Though the scarcity of furry figurines is a central part of the Labubu ecoystem, reseller communities online and in local collector shops keep buyers hooked. The online seller eBay, for example, has more than 19,000 Labubu products — many of them listed at higher prices than on Pop Mart. And online search interest in Labubu has also skyrocketed in the last year, especially in California, Nevada, Texas and Hawaii, according to Google Trends. CNN's Olivia Kemp contributed reporting to this story.
CNN
13 hours ago
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Big hype, tiny plushie: Visualizing the Labubu craze in 5 charts
Labubus — the fluffy, sharp-toothed figurines adorning belt loops and bags across the globe — aren't just toys. They've become a cultural and commercial phenomenon. The creepy-cute collectibles, typically sold in 'blind boxes' that conceal the design inside, have gone from niche toy to global craze, propelling a revenue explosion at Pop Mart, the Chinese company behind the product. And for collectors chasing the rarest versions — like the elusive 'secret' Labubu — the price of obsession can add up fast. In 2024, the company reported revenue of more than $1.8 billion, including $420 million outside China, in part because of Labubu sales. CNN unpacks how this tiny plushie helped fuel a billion-dollar business. The furious interest in the brand has fueled many new offerings from Pop Mart for US customers in recent years, according to an analysis of the company's products, which lists release dates in their descriptions online. The cumulative number of dolls, figurines and related 'The Monsters' products, which includes Labubu, has more than doubled in recent years, according to a CNN analysis. Part of the demand is perhaps driven by a clever sales tactic. Popular Labubu blind boxes offer six possible designs — and a chance at a 'secret' variant. Pop Mart advertises that buyers have a 1-in-72 chance of unboxing these coveted versions. For collectors chasing those dolls, the price of obsession can theoretically add up fast. A CNN simulation found that scoring one could cost the average buyer around $2,000. To help illustrate how rare and potentially expensive these items can be, CNN used a computer script to simulate 10,000 buyers and how much they would need to spend before unboxing one. Some people in this mock sale got lucky early. Others had to keep buying — dozens, sometimes hundreds of times — to succeed. Despite the boom in demand and new products, availability at Pop Mart's online and retail stores hasn't kept pace. The company lists nearly 100 products in its 'The Monsters' series on its website for US customers. Yet only a handful of the toys were in stock this week, when a flash sale of two of the company's most popular Labubus sold out rapidly. Though the scarcity of furry figurines is a central part of the Labubu ecoystem, reseller communities online and in local collector shops keep buyers hooked. The online seller eBay, for example, has more than 19,000 Labubu products — many of them listed at higher prices than on Pop Mart. And online search interest in Labubu has also skyrocketed in the last year, especially in California, Nevada, Texas and Hawaii, according to Google Trends. CNN's Olivia Kemp contributed reporting to this story.
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