Lizzie Magie, born in 1866 in Illinois, invented The Landlord’s Game in 1903 to teach players about economic inequalities. She patented it in 1904 with the goal of illustrating Henry George’s single-tax theory and exposing the dangers of land monopolies and speculation through the game’s mechanics.
In 1936, after Monopoly became a commercial hit thanks to Parker Brothers, Magie shared a prototype of her original game in interviews. She emphasized that her invention was meant to warn people about the risks of land speculation, although she received little recognition and very little compensation.