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Hiroshi Yamauchi, the man who built Nintendo, dies aged 85
Hiroshi Yamauchi was Nintendo's third and arguably most important president. When he took the reins from his grandfather in 1949, the Japanese company specialized in the manufacture of playing cards for its home market -- first Japanese-style cards and then, under Yamauchi's guidance, Western-style ones too. By the time he handed over control to Satoru Iwata 53 years later, he'd overseen the creation of all Nintendo's game consoles up to the GameCube and become one of Japan's richest men -- in other words, not a bad innings for a man who passed away today at the ripe old age of 85.
Ex-Nintendo chairman now Japan's third wealthiest
Hiroshi Yamauchi, former chairman of Nintendo's board of directors and the company's president prior to Satoru Iwata, is now the third wealthiest person in Japan, according to Forbes. Yamauchi reportedly has a net worth of $4.8 billion.On Forbes' list of the 40 richest Japanese, Yamauchi is noted for jumping up 11 spots, making him the list's biggest gainer. The reason cited for Yamauchi's increased worth is his shares in Nintendo; the company's stock has reportedly tripled in value since January 2006, thanks to the success of Nintendo DS and Wii.We know, you're expecting us to throw up a picture of Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto holding a DS that prints money. But we've got self control ... we'll just link to an article that already has the image instead.
