Secret Millionaires Club

Secret Millionaires Club is an American educational animated series that aired on The Hub / Hub Network from October 23, 2011 to January 11, 2017. Qubo would later air reruns of the series from 2016 to 2021. The series features famed investor Warren Buffett as a secret mentor to a group of teens who learn practical life lessons during fun-filled adventures in business.

Secret Millionaires Club
GenreEducational
Developed byA Squared Entertainment
Written byVarious
Directed byDavid Elvin
Panlin Qiu
StarringWarren Buffett as himself
Voices ofChris Jai Alex
Ogie Banks
Julie Maddalena
Stephanie Sheh
Steve Staley
Theme music composerRon Wasserman
Opening theme"Secret Millionaires Club Theme"
Ending theme"Secret Millionaires Club Theme" (instrumental)
ComposerRon Wasserman
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes26 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersAmy Moynihan Heyward
Andy Heyward
Lifeng Wang
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesBerkshire Hathaway
Bang Zoom! Entertainment
Xing Xing Animation
Original release
NetworkThe Hub / Hub Network
ReleaseOctober 23, 2011 (2011-10-23) –
January 11, 2017 (2017-01-11) (Qubo telecast only)

Plot

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The series follows adventures in business with Radley, Elena, Jones, Lisa, their robot Starty, and Warren Buffett as their wise mentor. Every episode focuses on different business situations that kids might encounter in their own lives like having to raise money for something they want, or helping a local merchant understand why their business isn't working. The teens are smart and enterprising, and come to realize that the best investment they can make is an investment in themselves.

Characters

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  • Warren Buffett (voiced by himself, Guy Pinkham and Kevin Brief; varies in different episodes) is a millionaire who serves as the wise mentor of Elena, Jones, Radley, and Lisa.
  • Elena Ramirez (voiced by Julie Maddalena) is an eternal optimist with an upbeat personality who takes a positive approach to life. In her brown eyes, the world is neither black nor white but awash in many shades. Her thinking is smart and concise. She is the swing vote between Jones and Radley when neither can see the others' point of view. If Elena were a stockbroker, she'd be both a bull and a bear depending on market conditions.
  • David Allan Jones (voiced by Steve Staley) is funny, loud, the daredevil of the group, and a sports fanatic. In fact, his clothing attire usually has one piece of sporting equipment attached to one of his hands. He's a risk-taker and his impulsiveness often gets him into trouble. If the world is a chess game, Jones is off playing checkers. He rarely looks before he leaps nor does he usually think ahead to examine the consequences of his actions. His friends have to do that for him.
  • Radley Hemming (voiced by Ogie Banks) is all intellectual, a "techie" supreme, the kid who would shower with his computer if he could. Conservative in nature, he balances his emotions with a practical and well thought out approach to life. He never makes a move without first examining every possible result. His slow and methodical deliberations drives Jones to distraction. In the world of investing, they make a winning pair, Elena has a small crush on him in some episodes.
    • Starty (voiced by Chris Jai Alex) is Radley's robot.
    • D.E.B. (voiced by Debbie Bosanek) is an application that is on Radley's tablet computer. Radley would often consult D.E.B. about any word definitions.
  • Hou "Lisa" Lihua (voiced by Stephanie Sheh) is a Beijing student who never leaves without her French purse. Lisa would do nearly almost anything to join the United Nations.
  • Jay-Z, Nick Cannon, Shaquille O'Neal and Bill Gates as themselves[1][2]

Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
1"Be Cool to Your School"David Elvin, Panlin QiuAnn AustenOctober 23, 2011 (2011-10-23)101

Following Warren Buffett's visit to their school, Elena, Jones, Radley, and Lisa hear from the principal that the school trip to New York and some other school activities have been canceled. So the kids plan to raise money to get the trip to New York working again. When the kids fail to raise money for an important school field trip, Warren shows them that in business, and in life, there are no failures. He encourages them to learn from their mistakes – even embrace them. Our four heroes discard their ideas that didn’t work, focus on what did and not only raise enough money to save the field trip – but decide to form a club and help others solve their money problems. And so the beginnings of – The Secret Millionaires Club! During their trip to New York, the kids meet one of Warren Buffett's friends who happens to be Jay-Z as he encourages the kids to always follow their dreams.

Note: The song "Empire State of Mind" was featured in this episode.
2"Neither a Borrower Nor a Lender Be, Dude"David Elvin, Panlin QiuAndy HeywardApril 28, 2012 (2012-04-28)102
While the SMC sets out to save their local newspaper by bringing it to the Internet, Jones borrows Lisa’s carefully saved money for a tournament and then can’t pay it back when he loses to a female skateboarder in the finals. Tensions escalate as both learn a high priced lesson.
3"When Pigs Fly"David Elvin, Panlin QiuMark ZasloveSeptember 22, 2012 (2012-09-22)103
Elena has to raise a piglet named Truffles for a school project and learns what she has to do to pull this off from Warren Buffett. The SMC help a friend named Pete Jr. who has been left in charge of a pet store that was run by his father who has fallen ill.
4"The Cost of Giving"David Elvin, Panlin QiuMark ZasloveDecember 16, 2012 (2012-12-16)104
Lisa faces a potential burnout and important lesson on life-balance. The Secret Millionaire's Club come to the aid of Enzo, the owner of the restaurant Pastapolis to help increase customer awareness to his business.
5"Elena's Shaqtastic Adventure"David Elvin, Panlin QiuMark ZasloveJanuary 20, 2013 (2013-01-20)105
Warren Buffett invites Shaquille O'Neal to help Elena make the right decision of going to an elite sports camp or jeopardizing her education.
6"Avast Ye Downloads!"David Elvin, Panlin QiuMark ZasloveFebruary 11, 2013 (2013-02-11)106
When the Secret Millionaires Club travels to London, they learn a lesson about the illegal downloading of music when their music video is pirated by their fans. At the same time, they help to look for a solution to help their friend Millie save a record store that is owned by Millie's family while getting advice from Warren Buffett and Nick Cannon.
7"Down and Out in Beijing"David Elvin, Panlin QiuMark ZasloveMarch 10, 2013 (2013-03-10)107
The Secret Millionaires Club visits Beijing where they meet Lisa's cousin Bohai who bites off more than he can chew...or sell. Together they learn that having a plan is fundamental to traveling and running a successful business.
8"Listen to the Music"David Elvin, Panlin QiuKevin O'DonnellApril 14, 2013 (2013-04-14)108
In order to help a musical superstar and her opening act, the Secret Millionaires Club must take on a greedy manager who is exploiting the talent.
9"Paranormally, We Don't Do This Kind of Thing"David Elvin, Panlin QiuRon Nelson & Mark SteenMay 19, 2013 (2013-05-19)109
The Secret Millionaires Club goes to Scotland where Radley plans goes to MacAlistair Castle (the location of MacAlistair Bed and Breakfast owned by the Graham Family) to prove that ghosts don't exist when it is said to be haunted by the Ghost of Old Lady MacAllistair and her dog Seamus which have been scaring away customers. The Secret Millionaires Club must find a way to dispel the rumors and attract new customers. Meanwhile, Elena plans to tutor Jones in math in order to get him a good grade.
10"A Gift Shop Too Far"David Elvin, Panlin QiuMark ZasloveJune 30, 2013 (2013-06-30)110
The Secret Millionaires Club goes to Indonesia to save an orangutan rehabilitation sanctuary. They discover the pitfalls of getting involved in businesses that they don't understand.
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"A Midwestern Yankee in King Arthur's Court"David Elvin, Panlin QiuMark Zaslove
Kevin O'Donnell
September 22, 2013 (2013-09-22)111
112
113
Part 1: Warren, Starty and the Secret Millionaires Club are transported back into time to Camelot by Merlin where they embark on a quest to Camelot for Six Golden Rules that will save young King Arthur's kingdom (which has fallen into debt) at the same time when Guinevere is abducted by a dragon. While King Arthur is heading up a quest to learn the Six Golden Rules, King Arthur's cousin Morgan le Fay schemes to win Camelot in the auction and will try various methods to make sure that King Arthur fails.
Part 2: With two of the Six Golden Rules memorized, King Arthur works to find a jousting champion to go up against Morgan le Fay's Dark and Stormy Knight. Meanwhile, Warren and Merlin search for the Merlin's former servant Knives Knasty (who Merlin fired for stealing the castle silverware) when Merlin's Book of Spells was stolen.
Part 3: With four of the Six Golden Rules memorized and the jousting tournament is won by Squire Terrance Topples (who represented King Arthur in the tournament), the Secret Millionaires Club and King Arthur's group continue their quest for the remaining two parts of the Six Golden Rules while finding a way to rescue Guinevere from the dragon. Meanwhile, Warren and Merlin arrive at the auction house at Ye Bay to keep the Book of Spells from falling into Morgan le Fay's hands.
14"The Final Financial Frontier"David Elvin, Panlin QiuMark ZasloveOctober 19, 2013 (2013-10-19)114
At the time when Radley imagines himself going into outer space, the Secret Millionaires Club helps to solve the financial crisis of Zack Zachary's company called Rocket Incorporated which planned to give people a tour in space. When none of the ideas to improve the company work, the Secret Millionaires Club turns to Warren Buffett and the astronauts John D. Olivas and Liu Yang for advice.
15"The Gift"David Elvin, Panlin QiuMichael MaurerNovember 24, 2013 (2013-11-24)115
The Secret Millionaires Club visits an African village where they must bring electricity to the village as part of their challenge from Bill Gates. They meet Adisu and village elder Kwende's daughter Ateefah. The Secret Millionaires Club then plan to make a water wheel to supply electricity to the village. When Radley and Adisu end up arguing about the waterwheel designs, Elena ends up getting advice from Warren Buffett and Bill Gates on how to get them to work together.
16"Just Say Snow!"David Elvin, Panlin QiuMark ZasloveDecember 22, 2013 (2013-12-22)116
The Secret Millionaires Club are on winter break where they find that the owner of Snowy Lodge named Jerry Crenshaw had retired and a new owner from Switzerland named Lucas has redecorated the hotel to make it feel like home. With no visitors to the lodge and no available part-time jobs due to lack of visitors, Jones gets a job to be a poster boy for the lodge's advertisement and meets Lucas' son Phillipe who secretly doesn't know how to ski.
17"To Herring is Human""David Elvin, Panlin QiuMark ZasloveJanuary 26, 2014 (2014-01-26)117
While in Stockholm, Sweden during the Herring Festival, the Secret Millionaires Club drums up business for a small herring eatery called Dahlquist's which is run by Isak Dahlquist's family. The Secret Millionaires Club discover that Dahlquist's faces stiff competition from a fast-food restaurant called the Happy Herring which is owned by Arnie Sr. Meanwhile, Jones and Radley learns about Bandy from Isak as they learn how do Bandy against Arnie Jr.'s team.
18"Goooooal"David Elvin, Panlin QiuKevin O'DonnellFebruary 16, 2014 (2014-02-16)118
The Secret Millionaires Club are in a race against the clock to save a local soccer team called the Swans from being sold. While improving the gameplay and the services at the arena, they receive help from one of Warren Buffett's friends named David Beeks who is a soccer player.
19"Get a Clue, Dude"David Elvin, Panlin QiuMark ZasloveMarch 16, 2014 (2014-03-16)119
The Secret Millionaires Club help a robotics museum called the Robosity Museum to attract more visitors. At the same time, items mysteriously disappear where Starty is behind this due to Radley constructing a self-repair unit in him. After Starty comes in contact with the display of the robot Arty (who was built by the scientist Professor Otto von Otto), this causes a chain of events that activates all the robots in the museum who start helping Arty to repair Starty by claiming different items.
20"Fashion Bot Fiasco"David Elvin, Panlin QiuKevin O'DonnellApril 27, 2014 (2014-04-27)120
Lisa and Radley create a Fashion Bot which sparks interest from a national toy chain, but the kids focus their attention on a local store and a science fair.
21"Sing Between the Lines"David Elvin, Panlin QiuMark ZasloveSeptember 21, 2014 (2014-09-21)121
The Secret Millionaires Club search for a young singer named Lucinda who hides following a great audition at a performing arts school established by Kelly Rowland. They must try to persuade her to confront her biggest fear. Meanwhile, Radley tries to help Elena ace her chemistry assignment.
22"Sweeet'"David Elvin, Panlin QiuMark ZasloveOctober 12, 2014 (2014-10-12)122
An up-and-coming chocolate maker named Julian starts a new business, but he neglects to tell the Secret Millionaires Club something crucial. Now they must act quickly in order to get Julian's business on the right track and obtain money to pay for the wedding of Julian and his fiancé Zoe.
23"Far Out Future"David Elvin, Panlin QiuKevin O'DonnellJanuary 10, 2017 (2017-01-10)123
The Secret Millionaires Club travels to the future to help save the world's first Time Machine company but they find they may not even have time to save themselves!
24"For Pete's Pets Sake"David Elvin, Panlin QiuDouglas WoodJanuary 10, 2017 (2017-01-10)124
When puppies who have escaped from a local pet shop suddenly show up on the doorstep of the Secret Millionaires Club's headquarters, the kids help the overwhelmed pet shop owner regain control of his business, and in the process also help a disabled reporter discover the value of adding a dog to her life.
25"Big Things Come in Micro Packages"David Elvin, Panlin QiuMark ZasloveJanuary 11, 2017 (2017-01-11)125
The Secret Millionaires Club must fight for Girl Empowerment when they're in Africa with Oprah Winfrey and aid a struggling all woman family banana business the banks won't give a loan to because there's no "man of the house" around.
26"Camp Big Foot"David Elvin, Panlin QiuMark ZasloveJanuary 11, 2017 (2017-01-11)126
At Camp Big Foot, the Secret Millionaires Club kids search for Bigfoot to raise money for the camp, only to get trapped on an island with two counselors that won't stop squabbling.

References

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  1. ^ "Jay-Z Makes an Appearance in Warren Buffett's Cartoon Show, 'Secret Millionaires Club' [Video]". The New York Observer. 18 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2023-03-18. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  2. ^ "Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club". Archived from the original on 2023-03-18. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
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