Blockbuster CEO Called Netflix a "Joke." They Laughed All the Way to $345 Billion.

In September 2000, Netflix co-founders Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph flew to Dallas to pitch Blockbuster on acquiring their struggling DVD-by-mail startup for just $50 million. CEO John Antioco reportedly thought the offer was a joke and declined, dismissing the entire dot-com phenomenon as hype. At the time, Blockbuster had 9,000+ stores and 84,000 employees. Netflix had 120 employees and was bleeding cash.

Fast forward to today: Netflix is worth approximately $345 billion with 325 million subscribers worldwide. Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and closed its last corporate store in 2014. There is exactly one Blockbuster left on Earth—a nostalgia-fueled franchise in Bend, Oregon that now sells merchandise mocking their own demise.

The $50 million Netflix asked for? That would buy you roughly 0.014% of the company today. Antioco's "joke" turned out to be the most expensive laugh in entertainment history.