One of the greatest heels of his generation, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase was a force to be reckoned with when he arrived in the WWF in the late 1980s. DiBiase represented all of the excesses of the 80s: Throwing money around like it was nothing, big houses, luxury cars, a man-servant by the name of Virgil, and a desire to buy the WWF world title. DiBiase tried to purchase the WWF title from Hulk Hogan in 1987, asking the champion to simply state a number and DiBiase would buy it because "everybody has a price for the Million Dollar Man." Unsurprisingly, Hogan refused to sell the belt and defeated DiBiase in a series of matches for the belt. DiBiase, unhappy with being turned down and still desiring the world title, turned to Bobby "The Brain" Heenan for assistance. Heenan had been the manager of Andre the Giant since he turned heel and challenged Hogan for the world title at Wrestlemania III. DiBiase wanted Andre as his hired gun and Heenan sold Andre the Giant to the Million Dollar Man for the hefty sum of $1,000,000. DiBiase's investment seemed to pay off as Andre defeated Hogan in February 1988 thanks to the help of twin referees Earl and Dave Hebner. Andre then immediately handed the title over to Ted DiBiase, with DiBiase even wearing the belt at house shows following the match. However, WWF President Jack Tunney announced that Andre vacated the title when he gave it to DiBiase, necessitating a tournament for the vacated world title at WrestleMania IV. Andre eliminated Hogan and himself from the tournament with a double disqualification, paving an easy path for DiBiase to win the belt. However, DiBiase ended up losing to Randy Savage in the finals after Hogan nailed him with a chair behind the referee's back. Disappointed with his inability to win the title, DiBiase sold the contract of Andre back to Bobby Heenan for $100,000, giving Heenan a $900,000 profit and the rights to Andre once again. For someone who calls himself the "Million Dollar Man", you would think he'd be slightly better with money. In all fairness though, Bobby Heenan is "The Brain" after all.
