Entertainment
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Epic Games co-founder Tim Sweeney.
- The man in charge of the company that makes "Fortnite" is now worth over $7 billion.
- According to the 2018 Bloomberg Billionaire list, Sweeney is No. 194 of the world's 500 richest people.
- Though "Fortnite" is a money-making powerhourse, much of Sweeney's wealth comes from years of running Epic Games as a wildly successful gaming company.
The man in charge of the company that makes "Fortnite" is now worth over $7 billion.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney is number 194 on this year's world's 500 richest people list, which is annually published by Bloomberg. Sweeney isn't confirming the number himself; it's based on his presumed sale of Epic Games stock during a recent venture fundraising round.
Based on the estimate, Sweeney is reportedly worth $7.16 billion. That puts him above more well-known billionaires like George Soros and George Lucas, but still well below the Mark Zuckerbergs and Jeff Bezoses of the world.
"Fortnite"/Epic Games
"Fortnite" costs nothing to play, but the game's currency - "V-bucks" - cost money to purchase.
Though "Fortnite" launched in summer 2017, the game's dominance has continued steadily throughout 2018.
The game now has over 200 million players, and is available across a whopping seven different game platforms: iPhone, Android, PC, Mac, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. Better still, the game can be played across all those platforms - a first in the world of video games.
And all those players means hundreds of millions of dollars in monthly revenue just from "Fortnite."
But "Fortnite" alone isn't how Sweeney made his billions. Through years of work as the CEO of Epic Games, Sweeney has amassed his wealth by running a wildly successful gaming company.
Epic Games makes the Unreal Engine, for instance - a set of software tools used to build some of the world's biggest games (including "Fortnite" of course). When game developers and publishers sell games made with Unreal Engine, Epic Games gets a cut.
And Epic Games isn't slowing down: The company's latest move is launching its own online storefront, the Epic Games Store, that intends to take on Valve's Steam service.
Epic Games
It's a brilliant move from Sweeney and co. that provides a new storefront for game developers and publishers; not only does it offer a new retail option, but it offers game sellers are far larger cut of their own profits.
As the chart above demonstrates, Epic Games is offering an 88% revenue split with game sellers - Valve's Steam and other digital retailers like Apple's App Store offer around 70%.
With forward-looking moves like the Epic Games Store and the success of "Fortnite" continuing without an end in sight, Sweeney's position on the 500 richest list is likely to only increase as the years progress.