Hugh Hefner started Playboy with $600 and a photo of Marilyn Monroe

In 1953, 27-year-old Hugh Hefner borrowed $600 from his mother to launch Playboy. With no big budget, he used a nude calendar photo of Marilyn Monroe - taken years earlier - on the first cover, without her permission. The gamble worked: over 50,000 copies sold. Hefner expected it to be a one-off. Instead, it sparked a media empire, changed adult publishing, and made Monroe an icon all over again.

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