Who Are The Richest People in the Gaming Industry?

The gaming industry is huge. It comprises PC, console, mobile, and casino games. Every year, this industry generates over $150 billion—more money than Hollywood, music, and most sports leagues.

Unsurprisingly, the industry has produced countless billionaires over the years. Some of them—Bill Gates and Gabe Newell—need no introduction. Others are less popular in the west. Nonetheless, they’re gaming billionaires.

Think of the people who own top crash gambling sites. They don’t always reveal their identities. Yet, they make a lot of money from these casinos. With that said, below are the richest men and women in gaming:

Bill Gates–$116 billion

Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975. Within a few years, Microsoft was a million-dollar industry. Microsoft continued to skyrocket in value with time, turning Gates into the richest man on Earth for years.

These days, Bill is a philanthropist and part-time gamer. His company, on the other hand, is a major gaming brand. Microsoft owns the Xbox console, Microsoft, Forza, Doom, Halo, and Fallout.

Of course, Microsoft isn’t just a gaming company. And it could be argued that Microsoft made Gates a billionaire long before the company ventured into gaming. Still, the New Mexico native has made billions of dollars thanks to his company’s gaming ventures.

Gabe Newell–$3.9 billion

Gabe Newell was destined for success from the day he enrolled in college at Harvard. Not only was he a sharp student, but he also impressed Microsoft so much that the company convinced him to quit Harvard to work for Bill Gates.

Gabe worked at Microsoft for 13 years. He was in charge of producing Windows OS and helped turn Windows into a great gaming platform. In 1996, Newell left Microsoft with Mike Harrington to start Valve—the gaming brand behind Steam, CS: GO, Dota 2, and Half-Life 2.

According to Bloomberg, Gabe’s wealth has grown rapidly in the past year. The explanation is that his wealth is hugely tied to the success of eSports. And with video competitions spreading globally, his wealth will continue to rise.

Denise Coates–$12.2 billion

Denise Coates is the richest woman in Britain. She made her wealth through Bet365, one of the largest gambling brands in the UK. Denise, together with her brother, John Coates—also runs Stoke City FC—a Championship soccer club in the UK.

While Denise co-founded Bet365, her dad played an essential role in her success. He bought Stoke City FC long before Denise became an entrepreneur. He also ran a gambling brand that helped inspire her daughter to start her sportsbook. Today, Denise is one of the highest-paid executives in the UK, with an annual salary exceeding $250 million.

Although she makes hundreds of millions from Bet365 every year, the company makes a lot less in profits. The Guardian reports that the sportsbook made just over $60m in profit last year.

To be fair, Bet365’s reduced profits can be attributed to its rapid expansion in North and South America. It employed 1000 more people in 2022 to help grow its brand in the US, Argentina, and the Netherlands.

Bet365 is a top-rated online casino and sportsbook. It’s user-friendly, innovative, and provides great odds. Its only drawback is that it does not accept crypto. If you love crypto bonuses, you’ll need to look for the best Bitcoin casino bonus sites.

Lui Che Woo–$19 billion

As we mentioned earlier, gaming billionaires aren’t always famous people. Lui Che is an excellent example. This property developer first became a billionaire through his real estate empire.

In 2002, Lui entered the gaming industry by launching a casino in Macau. Nearly a decade later, he opened Lui’s Galaxy Entertainment casino. He has since then opened six more casinos in the same city and has plans to expand his brand to Japan.

Beyond investing in gaming, the 92-year-old is a philanthropist. He funded the construction of a research lab at Stanford University in 1999. He also helped Hong Kong Polytechnic University build a new building. His biggest single donation was to the University of Hong Kong—he donated HK$15.6 million in 2015.

Ma Huateng–$36.6 billion

Similar to Gabe Newell, Ma Huateng’s net worth mushroomed in the last year. He was worth $23.4 billion in December 2022. Fast Forward to June 2023 and his net worth stands at a whopping $37 billion.

How did the 51-year-old become so rich? He’s the founder and CEO of Tencent—the largest gaming brand in China. His company owns or co-owns many popular video games, including Fortnite, Arena of Valor, PUBG, League of Legends, and Call of Duty: Mobile.

As a gaming provider, Tencent also provides a platform for Western-made video games to grow in China. It works with 2K, Call of Duty Online, and Activision to help its games thrive in the Chinese market.

Markus Persson–$1.2 billion

Although Markus isn’t the richest man in gaming, he’s a celebrity in the gaming community. He created Minecraft in 2009. And after five years, he sold it to Microsoft for $2.5 billion.

Markus is every game developer’s dream—to create one life-changing game. The fact that he also made $1.2 billion from the game is also phenomenal. What’s more, Minecraft is the best-selling video game in the world.

So, even if he didn’t make so much money from the game, he can be proud of gifting the world a memorable title. He says he hates being a billionaire anyway, meaning becoming insanely rich was never his priority while building the game.

Johann Graf–$7.1 billion

Johann Graf is the founder of Austria-based software provider, Novomatic. The company creates and leases slot machines, card games, and betting software. It also owns 60+ online casinos and security software in at least 40 countries.

Johann owns 80% of his business as of 2023. This is after he gave his son and manager 20% of his company to help him run it—he resigned as the CEO. To be fair, Graf owns more than 660 companies, some of which sell casino equipment.

Surprisingly, Johann is media-shy. After resigning from Novomatic’s board of directors, he lives a discreet life. Only his son and two managers appear in the media to talk about his empire. He fancies his private lifestyle and will probably appear in the public limelight any time soon.