Forbes Designates Daughters of Late Nexon Founder as World’s Youngest Billionaires

On the 8th of last month, Forbes, the American economic specialist media, announced its list of the “2024 World’s Youngest Billionaires.” The press reported that all 25 of the youngest billionaires selected this time are under 33. Rare news emerged with the inclusion of a pair of Korean sisters.

The owners of this title are Kim Jung Min (22), the eldest daughter, and Kim Jung Youn (20), the second daughter of the late Nexon founder, Kim Jung Ju. They have ascended to the “world’s youngest billionaires.”

In 2002, Jung Min was the fifth youngest among the 33 individuals listed, while Jung Yeon, born in 2004, was the third youngest. As of this year, the net worth of these two sisters is estimated to be $1.4 billion each.

Jung Min, Jung Youn, and Kim Jung Ju’s widow, Yoo Jung Hyun, a director at NXC (Nexon’s holding company), inherited a fortune of about $7.3 billion from the founder Kim. They paid $4.4 billion in inheritance tax, which is 60% of the inheritance. After the late founder Kim passed away, they spent the state about 29.3% of NXC’s shares as inheritance tax in 2022.

Forbes mentioned the two sisters, “Through NXC, Kim Jung Ju, the founder established in 1994, each holds approximately 9% of the shares of Nexon, an online gaming company. After their father’s death at the early age of 54 in 2022, they inherited the shares,” and “The sisters do not hold any positions or work at the company.”

The youngest billionaire announced was Livia Voigt from Brazil, who claimed the title with just a one-year difference from Jung Youn. She is the heiress of WEG, the world’s largest electrical equipment manufacturer, and it is known that her total assets this year amount to $1.1 billion in company shares.

Local media such as CNN Brazil reported that since her birth in 2004, she has been earning an average of 760,000 Brazilian Reals daily, about $150,025.

Forbes, in announcing the youngest billionaire group, stated, “The inheritance received by the youngest billionaire heirs clearly shows that the transfer of wealth between generations, driven by the global aging population, is beginning,” and “The baby boom generation (born between 1946 and 1965) and their descendants in the United States hold $95.9 trillion of $147.1 trillion in total household assets according to the Federal Reserve’s estimate.”

Founder Kim Jung Ju established Nexon, a leading company in the gaming industry, with a capital of $53,000 in 1994. He developed graphic online games such as “The Kingdom of the Winds,” followed by hits like “Kart Rider,” “Crazy Arcade,” and “MapleStory,” which became well-known games among Koreans in their 20s to 40s. Despite struggling with depression for an extended period while dedicating himself to the company, he sadly passed away in the United States at the end of February 2022, sparking waves of mourning.

On another note, there is news about Nexon Games. On the 5th of last month, the Korea Exchange announced that about 3,000 new shares issued due to the exercise of stock options by Nexon Games were listed that day.

The exercise price of Nexon Games’ stock options was $11.98. With this listing, the total number of Nexon Games’ listed shares will increase to 11,709,263.

The term “stock option” refers to the right, as stipulated by the articles of incorporation, to purchase shares of the corporation at a predetermined price through a special resolution of the shareholders’ meeting of the corporation. This right is granted to employees of the corporation and related companies who can participate or contribute to the corporation’s establishment, management, overseas business, and technological innovation.

It is a compensation mechanism to efficiently distribute the increase in the company’s value to the contributing employees and related parties when the company’s value increases.

Furthermore, Nexon has consistently raised its employees’ salaries, earning envy within the gaming industry.

According to the electronic disclosure system disclosed by the Financial Supervisory Service last March, the average salary of Nexon Games employees in 2023 was approximately $83,000. The annual average wage of Nexon Games employees increased by about $6,565 from $53,250 in 2021 to $59,815 the next year and by another $8,024 last year.

Nexon Games’ annual sales in 2023 were $141M, and operating profit was $8.8M, recording a massive growth of 46% and 133%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Blue Archive, developed by Nexon Games, is famous in China. Meanwhile, Hit2 is expanding its service area to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, establishing itself as a leader in pioneering overseas markets.