Hiroshi Yamauchi

Hiroshi Yamauchi (山 内 溥Japanese, Hiroshi Yamauchi, born November 7, 1927 in Kyoto, † September 19, 2013 ) was a Japanese entrepreneur. From 1949 to 2002 he was the president of the family company Nintendo, which became a major video game manufacturers under his leadership.

Life

In 1949, Yamauchi Nintendo's third president and led the company to great success worldwide. Under his leadership, Nintendo has grown from a small Japanese playing card manufacturer for the multi-billion dollar video game company. His successor was started in 2002 by Satoru Iwata.

His wealth in 2008 was estimated 7.8 billion U.S. dollars. On the list of the richest people in the world by Forbes Magazine in 2003 it reached number 75, 2005 401 Place and 2007 149th Place. In 2008 he was, according to Forbes by the high sales of the Wii gaming console the richest man in Japan. Even in 2013 Yamauchi was the biggest Nintendo shareholders with a share of 10%. According to a Nintendo financial report, he served as a consultant for the company.

On September 19, 2013 Yamauchi died aged 85 in a hospital after complications caused by pneumonia. He was married and had three children.