Vince McMahon's 10 Biggest Successes
5. Going Public
Although
critics point to WWE going public as the downfall of the business, it’s funny
to think about what was happening at the time. It was smackdab in the middle of
the Attitude Era with divas stripping each other’s tops and profanity-laden
promos. Perhaps it wasn’t the best time to shine a spotlight on pro wrestling,
but it certainly was the most profitable.
On 19 October 1999, the World Wrestling Federation went from a private,
family-owned business to a publicly traded company. When the closing bell rang
on Wall Street, McMahon and his wife Linda assumed a paper worth of more than
$1 billion while raising $170 million more to finance an expansion. Trading on
the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker WWE, the stock was then valued at
$172.5 million.