Elliot Handler Elliot Handler Elliot Handler (April 9, 1916 – July 21, 2011) was an American inventor, businessman, and co-founder of Mattel. With his wife, he developed some of the biggest-selling toys in American history, including Barbie, Chatty Cathy, Creepy Crawlers, and Hot Wheels. Handler was born to a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, on April 9, 1916, and grew up in Denver, Colorado. He studied industrial design at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. In 1929, he met his future wife Ruth Mosko at a B'nai B'rith dance for teenagers. They later married and had two children: a
Brent Handler a partner in his entrepreneurial pursuits. Handler knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur from the age of 23 and experienced early business success at Colorado's ExecuTrain, a computer training company. As the company's second employee, he sold millions of dollars' worth of computer training classes, and performed so well the company's owner had difficulty paying his commission. He later became a co-owner of the company. After his initial success at ExecuTrain, and the sale of the company, Handler went on to launch two businesses before finding success in the destination club industry. In 2002, along with his brother Brad