About

Edward R. Mercer officially announced his intention to set a new Guinness World Record by personally mentoring and coaching 100 individuals to become millionaires. The billionaire businessman and philanthropist known as the "8th Grade Millionaire" (also the title of his 2011 book) for having dropped out of school after the eighth grade, became a millionaire by the age of 27. He went on to set numerous records through his storied career and is known to be an ardent supporter of environmental causes.

"I spent the first part of my life earning a large fortune," stated Mercer, "Now it's all about my legacy. I have always strived to leave everything I touched better than how I found it. And what better way to make a difference than to teach people how to lift themselves up so that they can then touch the lives of even more people?"

Born in Ontario, Canada into a poor and abusive family, Mercer was not afforded any special advantages. "We lived in a condemned house with no electricity or running water," recalled Mercer, "We had to melt snow over a wood stove in the winter just to have something to drink. But even though I was poor, I never saw myself as poor." Living on the streets by the time he was a teenager, Mercer was in and out of juvenile detention centers until a life changing moment in front of a judge. "I realized the pain I was causing others and decided then to take my life in a new direction where I could make a positive impact instead."

Mercer became a self-made millionaire by the age of 27 and is the man behind the popularization of such toys as the bird that dips into a glass of water, the mood ring, and the glowing yo-yo. He moved to Costa Rica in the 1980s and became a champion of numerous environmental causes, creating the largest sanctuary for various tropical birds, turtles, and monkeys in the world. Known as "Mr. Costa Rica", Mercer is the largest private landowner in the country, and was inducted him into the Environmental Hall of Fame in 2008. He has helped more than 50 people to become millionaires in the past.

The troubled world economy has provoked action by Mercer who stated, "Every week I receive hundreds of emails from people needing help. The economic statistics are a nightmare! More and more people depend on government assistance. Families are falling apart and people don't know where to turn. I know that I cannot even make a dent in the problem by simply giving people money. Plus to me, sometimes a hand out is really just a hand down."

Instead Ed Mercer has announced a historic effort as his way of helping to address the problem, and in so doing set a new Guinness World Record. He continued, "I am going to personally mentor and coach 100 people to become millionaires. I know that I can make the biggest difference by empowering people, teaching them what I know, and guiding them to achieve their own dreams. And I have no interest in helping millionaires become multi-millionaires. I am looking for average, normal people that have the drive and ambition to be successful, but simply need a break to open that door and make it all happen. This is all about making a difference and leaving the world a better place than I found it, and empowering 100 other people to do the same."