30 Inventions That Seem Useless But Made Their Creators Millions

28. Spanx

Sara Blakely, the Spanx creator, lived in Florida, where the weather is too hot and humid for pantyhose to be comfortable. She was getting ready to go to a party one night when she decided that her garments were not working out for her, so she cut the feet off. Inspired, she moved to Atlanta and used $5000 she had saved as a fax machine saleswoman to create new underwear based on her cut-off pantyhose.

As a solution, she began Spanx, which is now a multi-billion-dollar company. The flagship product is a slimming pair of women’s underwear that allows the wearer to fit into dresses and pants that are otherwise a bit too snug. Spanx is one invention that no one thought of, but Blakely is now a billionaire.