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Burt Shavitz

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Entrepreneur

The Resume

    (May 15, 1935-July 5, 2015)
    Born in Manhattan, New York
    Birth name was Ingram Berg Shavitz
    News photographer turned beekeeper
    With Roxanne Quimby, formed the Burt's Bees line of personal care products (1984)
    Subject of the documentary 'Burt's Buzz' (2014)

Why he might be annoying:

    The Washington Post described him as a 'cantankerous hippie' and 'passive-aggressive Zen master.'
    In addition to founding the company together, he and Quimby were also lovers.
    After the two had a falling out (partly over his affair with an employee, partly over company HQ moving from Maine to North Carolina), he sold his stake in the company to Quimby for $130,000.
    If he had held onto it, he would have gotten $59 million when Clorox bought Burt's Bees.
    He claimed to have no regrets, but often still sounded bitter about Quimby: 'I haven’t spoken to her in quite a while, and I don’t care if I never do.'
    Like Ben & Jerry, he ended up the hippie face for a brand name owned by a gigantic multinational corporation.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He said about his decision to become a beekeeper, 'I realized I had hit the jackpot because you don't have to destroy anything to get honey.'
    Quimby admitted the $130,000 paid for his third of the company was 'embarrassing' and sent him an additional $4 million after the sale to Clorox.
    He insisted he did not regret missing out on millions of dollars, commenting 'What do I need it for? It just sounds like problems with the IRS to me.'
    He added, 'I've got everything I want: a nice piece of land with hawks and owls and incredible sunsets, and the goodwill of my neighbors.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 53.85% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 110 Votes: 53.64% Annoying