| The Million Dollar Rejection Club or The Round Table: Those Who Turned Down Millions; I Came Up With A List of More Than 55 |
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| They collectively rejected More Than 11 Billion Dollars |
| Person or The Party And The Million Dollar Rejection Story | Million Dollar Rejection Compilation |
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1. Andrew Mason
2. Eric Lefkofsky 3. Brad Keywell Groupon was offered $6 billion in its heyday by Google, but they turned it down and went public. If the deal took place, its three co-founders would have been billionaires. Since then, its founder Andrew Mason is fired and hundreds of employees have been laid-off. | $6 Billion |
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4. Benny Andersson
5. Bjorn Ulvaeus 6. Agnetha Faltskog 7. Anni-Frid Lyngstad Mamma Mia! they rejected a Billion! It should be the largest rejection in history of entertainment, ABBA turned down a $1 billion offer to reunite and tour 100 countries. The offer was made in 2000 by a British-American consortium. Faltskog spoke to the RadioTimes and said she doesn't regret. "We said no because they wanted 250 shows or something, it was incredible," she reasoned. "No chance. No chance. We had done it." | $1 Billion |
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8. Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg (who is now worth $13.3 billion) was offered $1 billion by Yahoo in 2006 but he turned it down saying that Yahoo wasnt a perfect match for the budding social phenomenon. Facebook went public in 2012 making its 1,000 of employees millionaires. | $1 Billion |
| 9. Will Glaser
10. Jon Kraft 11. Tim Westergren Pandora turned down $550 million and planning to go public. Pandora boasts of eighty million registered users. They have so far streamed a 3.9 billion hours of music. | $550 Million |
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12. Aaron Levie Box.net
Cloud storage provider Box.net rejected a $500 million offer to purchase the company. "As you've gotten a sense in the past 7 or 8 months, the market is in nearly every variable and metric outperforming our expectations," chief executive Aaron Levie, 26, told VentureBeat in an interview later. | $500 Million |
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13. Sean Connery
The producers of 'The Lord of The Ring' offered him a $10 million per film in front end, and a 15% cut from ticket sales of all three movies. Connery declined the Gandalf part because he "did not understand the script". The first and the two followed sequels went onto earn as much as $2.9 billion. Sean Connery's 15% cut plus 10 million per film would have been $465 million if he took the role. His mistake is the biggest, any actor has ever done. | $465 Million |
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14. Matt Barrie
Freelancer.com founder Matt Barrie turned down an offer worth north of $US400 million to sell his online outsourcing website. The $428 million bid has been from a Japanese online recruitment company. 'To build Australia's first big global consumer internet company' being his mission, he declined the offer. "I don't think I'm ready to sit by the beach just yet," he further explained. | $428 Million |
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15. Simon Cowell
Producers wanted Simon Cowell to stay on 'American Idol' as a judge and offered him $130 million which he turned down and left. Its reported that the head of Fox, Rupert Merdock personally spoke to him to stay on the show and bring his own show, X Factor to America. Seems, Simon does only one thing at a time. | $130 Million |
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16. Dennis Crowley
Foursquare, the location based app had the opportunity to sell it for more than $100 million. Yahoo and Facebook offered to buy Foursquare for $100-120 million at a time, when Foursquare had only raised $5 million. But the founder, Crowley decided to pass it and it was in the year 2010, just one year after its inauguration (but at a later stage they went on to raise $71.4 million). | $120 Million |
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17. Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld was offered a massive $100 million contract to do one more season of Seinfeld but he declined. 'I don't have a life, I'm not married, I don't have kids,' turning down the deal, he reasoned. Not a joke! The popular sitcom counted for nine series and ended in 1998. According to the then NBC executive Warren Littlefield, producers desperately wanted Seinfeld to do a 10th season. They offered him $100 million to stay on but the humour machine was headlong. | $100 Millions |
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18. Brett O'Brien
19. JJ Aguhob Viddy - a social video equallant of Twitter - reportedly turned down a $100 million buyout offer from Twitter. The most recent success was when the app raised $36 million at a $300 million valuation. Since then, things happening around them have been Mercury, it has lost its share in the social market, has laid off half its staff and its CEO has been fired. | $100 million |
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Dave Morin
21. Shawn Fanning 22. Dustin Mierau Path turned back to a $100 million offer from Google three months after launch. Recently, they were fined $800,000 for business misconduct such as accessing and using users address book contacts for spamming users to maintain growth. | $100 Million |
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23. Doug Imbruce
Google offered to buy TechCrunch Disrupt winner Qwiki for more than $100 million, but CEO Doug Imbruce turned it down. | $100 Million |
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24. Drew Houston
25. Arash Ferdowsi Dropbox, one of the most successful startups in the recent tech scene, rejected a $100 million from there role model, Steve Jobs. Founders, Arash Ferdowsi and Drew Houston met Steve Jobs in December 2009 where Steve Jobs said that Apple would come on this market soon, and Dropbox is a feature, not a product. Anyway, the founders thought differently than the visionary that later had the vision to launch a similar 'Feature,' not a product. | $100 Million |
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26. Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace rejected Viking's $76 million offer. He landed a five-year, $60 million contract with the Miami Dolphins turning down a $76 million offer from the Minnesota Vikings. | $76 Million |
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27. Jeffrey Van Middlebrook
An inventor, named Jeffrey Van Middlebrook discovered a way to sequester gas from waste combustion in 2006. The Chinese government showed a keen interest in Middlebrook's finding and offered him and a business partner a US $60 million budget in research and development funding and to do the process on an industrial level. It was then that he read in the news that Chinese military hospitals had harvested the organs from prisoners of conscience and about torture and the persecution carried out by the Chinese officials. Finding out harrowing news he declined the finacial backing from the bloody country. | $60 Million |
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28. Dave Chappelle
Dave Chappelle was offered $50 million and a cut of DVD sales for a third series of his massively successful Chappelle Show which he turned down and and set sail to Africa. Chappelle Show's season one is the best selling television DVD series and has sold over 3 million copies, more than 'The Simpsons' managed to sell. | $50 Million |
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29. Floyd Mayweather Jr
According to Manny Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz, Floyd Mayweather Jr. put aside an offer of $50 million to face the Filipino WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao. According to him, a country located outside of the United States has come forward and made a massive offer of $100 million to held the contest. If the fight took place, his employer would get a 50% cut. | $50 Million |
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30. Christian Bale
Christian Bale turned down a whopping 50 million to return to the theatres as Batman, to his legendary role, but said 'No'. Later, the super role went to Dare Devil guy, Ben Affleck. | $50 Millions |
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31. Keanu Reaves
Keanu Reaves gave up back-end financial gains of 'Matrix' and handed them over to the special-effects and costume-design team of the movie. The actor was paid $10 million upfront for The Matrix and earned $35 million back-end when the film became a smash hit. | $35 Million |
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32. Mike Tyson
According to Evander Holyfield, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson has turned down an opportunity to fight for the third time in the ring with him. Facilitator, Don King, has approached Tyson and tried to persuade him with an offer of $35 million dollars, but Tyson has turned it down. "Tyson has zero interest in fighting again," Evander Holyfield was quoted as saying. | $35 Million |
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33. Yani Tseng
Yani Tseng, the No. 4 ranked golfer in the world, turned down $25 million worth sponsorship offer from a Chinese company. The reason being a condition that demands the player to change her citizenship to Chinese. "We cannot change the nationality,"her father, Tseng Mao-hsin, was quoted by AppleDaily. "So we rejected it right away." | $25 Million |
| 34. Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber was offered $25 million to Judge American Idol but he turned it down. The reason was tour signs. But he himself is a Belieber of American Idol. If he took the offer, he would have been the highest-paid Idol judge ever. The producers thought that, the teen sensation would draw a younger generation to the show and the show's ratings would ride on with it. | $25 Million |
| 35. Sachin Tendulka
Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulka said "No" to a liquor brand endorsement and turned down $22 million saying that he will not endorse a product that will harm youngsters. | $22 Million |
| 36. Katy Perry
Katy Perry rejected a $20 million 'American Idol' offer to judge the upcoming idols. Perry was bound by her schedule and it made it hard for her to do the show. | $20 Million |
| 37. Matthew McConaughey
As The Hollywood Reporter reports, Matthew McConaughey was once offered $15 million and 15% of the back end to star in MAGNUM, P.I. for Universal. The remake of the Tom Selleck television series which he rejected. | $15 Million |
| 38. Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey tuned down $10 million he was offered to perform in The Mask II, the sequel of the massively successful hit, The Mask. Jim Carrey refused the role saying that the role would not bring any new challenge for him. At the time the $10M offered to him was never heard of. | $10 Millions |
| 39. Afzal Kahn
A citizen of United Kingdom, Afzal Kahn, an owner of an automobile customization firm, was reportedly offered $9.35 million for 'F1', a 109 year old registration plate. Mr Kahn had no interest in selling F1, which is his favourite plate. | $9.35 Million |
| 40. Eminem
Eminem has turned down a $6 million offer according to the New Zealand Herald. Personals behind the annual 'Big Day Out' festival had offered the rapper $6 million to be a big part of the show which the rapper declined. | $6 Million |
| 41. U.K. Rock Band 'The Smiths'
U.K. rock band, the "Smiths" split in the late 1980s. They have since then turned down several offers to reunite. Recently they were invited to perform at the Coachella Valley Arts&Music Festival. The offer was 5 million dollars which the classic band discarded. | $5 million |
| 42. Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston is not that typical Playboy girl, she reportedly turned down an offer from the men's magazine to undress and had been offered a $4 million and a bonus for sales that would have earned her up to $10 million. Hugh Hefner approached Aniston after he saw her nude pics on GQ magazine's January 2009 issue. "Is it just me or is Jennifer Aniston getting hotter?" Hugh Hefner was puzzled after seeing the saucy pics. | $4 Million [$10 Million] |
| 43. Musfer Al Gamdi
A Saudi man called Saleh Musfer Al Gamdi found a little dark rock which, according to him, is one mentioned in one verse of the Koran. A year later, he was offered $4 million for the rock which he rejected. | $4 Million |
| 44. Ashlee Simpson
Ashlee Simpson received an offer to pose in the saucy men's magazine which she turned down. The offer would have been a mesmerizing $4 million if she was willing to take them off. | $4 Million |
| 45. Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis turned down $3 Million for 4 days work on 'Expendables 3.' Die Hard star wanted $4 million for the four days work in Bulgaria, but producers were only willing to shed $3 million. "GREEDY AND LAZY, A SURE FORMULA FOR CAREER FAILURE" Sylvester Stallone later Twittered. Role finally went to Harrison Ford. | $3 Million |
| 46. Kim Kardashian
47. Kanye West Kim turned down a $3 million offer for the first picture of daughter North West. | $3 Million |
| 48. A German Pensioner
A 70 year old German pensioner won a $2.77 million dollars worth lottery but had no interest in the money since he had no clue about what to do with the money, turned it down. He went to the German Lottery Association headquarters and told them to keep it with them. The worst case scenario, he has no living relatives either. | $2.77 Million |
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49. Iggy Azalea
Australian rapper Iggy Azalea turned down an offer of $1.5 million to do something dainty, to go on a dinner date with a Russian oil magnate. | $1.5 Million |
| 50. Melissa Joan Hart
Melissa Joan Hart was offered a million bucks to pose nude for Playboy which she rejected. | $1 Million |
| 51. Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga turned down $1 million to perform at last year's Republican National Convention in the United States. Reportedly, the Republicans tried her saying that $150,000 would go toward a domestic violence shelter if she took the offer. | $1 Million |
| 52. Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson turned down $1 Million to shave his beard. The former San Francisco Giants closer turned down a $1 million deal from 800Razors.com to shave his facial hair. | $1 Million |
| 53. Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan refused a $1 million offer to pose naked for Playboy's 55th anniversary issue last year. The editors of the mens magazine were unaware that tits and boobs were two very comman entities. | $1 Million |
| 54. Tim Tebow
Tim Tebow turned down a million dollar offer to play American football in Russia. Moscow Black Storm owner Mikhail Zaltsman made the offer for Tebow to play in just two games, but he turned down the offer. | $1 Million |
| 55. Grigori Yakovlevich Perelman
Grigori Perelman, a russian mathematician solved the Poincare conjecture, to prove that any kind of shape without a hole in it can be flawlessly formed into a perfect sphere. The problem was one of the seven listed on the Cambridge, Massachusett's Clay Mathematics Institute's Millennium Prize list besides being an headache for a 100 years for the elite of the mathematicians. Those who dare to bring forth solutions for such issues are vested with Fields Medal, math's equal to the Nobel Prize and one million dollars. But he refused the prize. After much deliberation on the solution Grigori Perelman brought, the committee faced a vital issue, 'what does Grigori Perelman speak is sense or not?' LOL | $1 Million |
| [BONUS]
56. Monta Ellis Monta Ellis turned down two-year, $24.8 million extension from Bucks. Bucks offered a total package of nearly $36 million over three years, valuating first year at $11 million and second year being close to $11.8 million and offering $13 million for the third. | $24.8 Million |
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