Quick answer: Ruth Handler (1916-2002) co-ran Mattel with her husband Elliot, created Barbie in 1959, and pushed the direct-to-children television advertising that turned Mattel into the world’s biggest toy company. Diecast collectors know Elliot Handler as the father of Hot Wheels, but Mattel’s rise was a partnership. Ruth Handler ran the business side with a steeliness that matched her creativity – and it was Barbie’s fortune that bankrolled the risk-taking that produced Hot Wheels in 1968. Barbie: The Idea Everyone Rejected Watching her daughter Barbara play with adult paper dolls, Ruth proposed a three-dimensional adult-figured fashion doll. Male executives – including, initially, her own husband – doubted it. She persisted,…