Forbes: Nintendo’s Hiroshi Yamauchi now Japan’s richest

That man right there is Japan‘s richest man. After his top three finish last year, Nintendo’s Hiroshi Yamauchi has now claimed the top spot among Japan’s billionaires – thanks to the success of the Nintendo Wii and DS. More details after the jump.

Forbes has just released the latest list of Japan‘s forty wealthiest and that guy’s grin up there best shows who got the high-end portion of the stick. After finishing in third place last year, Nintendo’s ex-chairman Hiroshi Yamauchi is now the richest man in Japan.

With a net worth of US$ 7.8 billion, the 80-year old Yamauchi’s net income jumped 48% to US$ 2.5 billion. We do know the reason why: the Nintendo DS and the Wii. If you can remember, Nintendo had a (hardcore) 115.6% profit rate for the past fiscal year,

Yamauchi was responsible for turning around Nintendo from a card-making company into the video game power it is now today. In the seventies, Yamauchi’s move as a president was to venture into home and arcade games. He was also an advocate of pursuing a wider audience.

Yamauchi retired in 2005 after serving Nintendo for 55 years. He cancelled his US$ 11 million retirement allowance to give it to Nintendo instead. We don’t know if it’s good karma, but immediately after, the Nintendo Wii phenomenon swept the world.

Via Forbes