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Hugh Hefner founded Playboy after he was denied a $5-a-week raise at Esquire
In 1952, Hugh Hefner was a 26-year-old copywriter at Esquire magazine with an entrepreneurial dream. Hefner, who died on Wednesday at the age of 91, famously founded Playboy magazine in 1953 after Esquire denied him a $5 raise to his $60-a-week salary. As The Wrap notes, Hefner quit Esquire in 1952, took out a mortgage of $600, and raised $8,000 from 45 investors, including $1,000 from his mother, to set the foundation for Playboy. The first issue of Playboy Magazine hit newsstands in 1953. It featured nude photographs of actress Marilyn Monroe, which were taken from a 1949 calendar shoot, according to The Wrap.