Hello Kitty at 50: The mouthless face that launched an $80 billion empire

Business

CNN  —  She weighs three apples and stands five apples tall. She enjoys baking cookies and dreams of being a pianist or poet. And now, despite her ageless appearance, she is 50 years old. Friday marks half a century since Japanese merchandising company Sanrio created the first iteration of Kitty White, or Hello Kitty, a cheerful feline girl (not, as her creator controversially revealed in 2014, a cat) who lives with her family in London’s suburbs. In the decades since debuting, she has become a