Everyone knew her as the 'Disaster Girl’. Now, she made $500,000 off that meme to clear student loans

There is absolutely no doubt that memes rule the digital realm. These visual slides can connect with people irrespective of culture, and language and truly bring people together. Some memes have become so popular that they have become cultural touchstones.

One such work is the "disaster girl" meme where she can be seen smirking as a house in the background is on fire. The image is one of the most popular memes on the internet and has stood the test of time. It is now 20 years old. In reality, the fire in the background was nothing serious and was part of a training exercise for firefighters in Mebane, N.C., near where Zoë and her father, Dave Roth, lived.

Turns out, Zoe Roth sold the original copy of her meme as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) for nearly half a million dollars. Roth, who was a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, sold the iconic photo at an auction for 180 Ether to 3F Music, a music studio based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which has collected many NFTs in the past. She plans to use the money earned to pay off her student loans and donate to charity. 

The market for ownership rights to digital art, ephemera, and media known as NFTs is booming. All of these NFTs are stamped with a unique bit of digital code that marks their authenticity and is stored on the blockchain, a ledger system. Speaking with the NY Times, Roth said she took the decision to sell it after she consulted with  "Bad Luck Brian" (Kyle Craven) — and Laney Griner, the mother of "Success Kid."

“It’s the only thing that memes can do to take control,”  Roth recalled Craven telling her, via NY Times. "People who are in memes and go viral is one thing, but just the way the internet has held on to my picture and kept it viral, kept it relevant, is so crazy to me,” she said. “I’m super grateful for the entire experience," she added. Back in 2021, Roth was studying peace, war, and defense. 

Ben Lashes, manager of Roth and star of other memes including "Nyan Cat," "Success Kid," "David After Dentist" and the “Ridiculously Photogenic Guy,” said that his clients had cumulatively made over $2 million in NFT sales. He talks about how NFT sales have helped establish memes as a proper art form.

"I think anytime you can find a collector — no matter what the price is — who respects the art behind it and is going to cherish it, that’s a successful sale, whether it’s one Ether or 200 or 300," he said. Apart from selling memes as digital products, there are ways like covering content on memes, selling memes on stock image sites, and running a meme-related contest other ways to earn money through memes.