Forbes identifies Japan’s richest man as former Nintendo boss Hiroshi Yamauchi, in their list of the top 40 richest Japanese – naturally his appearance is due largely to the colossal success of the Nintendo Wii. I kept an eye open for anime/manga concerns in the list, but I didn’t see any (unless you count Eva themed pachinko machines); I presume these concerns are all subsumed into big media and publishing groups, and so their founders and bosses are just humdrum media moguls. There are, however, plenty of game related concerns in there.
The list makes interesting reading; leaving aside the numerous internet entrepreneurs, there are some familiar companies contributing their founders and managers: at number 25, we find Enix founder and Final Fantasy kingpin Yasuhiro Fukushima, with just over a billion dollars to his name, at 34 we find Konami founder Kagemasa Kozuki, with $790 million, close on his heels at 36 with $760 million is Sega Sammy boss Hajime Satomi, and Koei founders and Nobunaga’s Ambition creators Keiko and Yoichi Erikawa just squeeze onto the list at 39 with $720 million. Well done to them all.
