Not such a trivial life

AN expat former bar owner in Nerja has become a ‘secret millionaire’ after investing money in popular game Trivial Pursuit.

The mystery investor – a Canadian – was persuaded to put 1000 dollars into the fledgling board game project in 1980.

His was one of the last pieces of the pie. Soon enough, the two inventors of the game – journalists Scott Abbott and Chris Haney – had struck a multi-million dollar deal.
The pair, who were also Canadian, had quit their jobs to move to the Costa del Sol and develop the game.

They spent a year finding 33 people to cough up 1000 dollars each.

At least one of them was a Canadian Nerja resident, who was prepared to stump up money for the “harebrained” idea.

According to local journalist David Baird, the mystery backer had met the inventors when they spent two months living at El Capistrano, a resort where Haney’s parents had a villa.

Today the mystery backer, who insists on remaining anonymous, enjoys “a comfortable retirement,” according to Baird, who lives in nearby Frigiliana.

“He was shrewder than anybody realised,” he added. “But he prefers no publicity.”
Decades later almost 100 million versions of the game have been sold across the world.

Sadly, co-creator Haney passed away last week aged just 59.

See how two Nerja hacks made a billion from Trivial Pursuit in The Olive Press feature.