Kim Beom-su is the richest self-made billionaire in Korea and a gambling and cheating scandal

Former chairman Kakao just topped Forbes Korea's 2022 rich list with a net worth of US$9.6 billion, despite a gambling and stock options scandal in recent years.

Kim Beom-su, founder of Kakao, topped Forbes' 2022 richest Korean list for the first time with a net worth of $9.6 billion. This is an impressive achievement as he once faced investigation from Korea's Fair Trade Commission in 2021 for allegedly ignoring "necessary information or making false reports about K. Cube Holdings, an investment firm wholly owned by Kim, for the past five years."

Here's what you need to know about Korea's richest man in 2022 - and how he got to where he is today.

Growing up in poverty

It's hard to imagine what Kim Beom-su's life looked like in front of his billion-dollar fortune. In a profile published in The Financial Times, 56-year-old billionaire Kim Beom-su recounted that his family shared a bedroom in a poor neighborhood in Seoul and his parents struggled to make ends meet.

He was the first in his family to go to college and he made money by tutoring.

Kim Beom-su's entire family of eight only shared one room when he was growing up.

"We had to create our own paths because my parents didn't have time to take care of us," he said in the interview.

"A great degree of autonomy was given to us, which also taught me a sense of responsibility."

His first time working at Samsung

The Financial Times filing also mentions that he started out as a software engineer at Samsung SDS, the company's IT services unit. But he left after 5 years to open an internet cafe and opened the online game portal Hangame, which later merged with search engine Naver to become Korea's dominant electronic portal.

Kim Beom-su has weathered a few storms in recent years, but remains the richest man in Korea.

After leading NHN for five years, he moved to Silicon Valley in 2005 to expand the company's presence in the US. However, things were more difficult than expected, and he left NHN to take on another business.

The KakaoTalk app was born after Kim Beom-su and his team were inspired by the launch of the first iPhone.

Then, in 2007, the iPhone came out. Kim Beom-su, who was in California at the time, was fascinated by smartphones. He and members of Iwilab, now Kakao, which he founded in 2006, have developed messaging applications for new mobile products because they believe that smartphones will primarily be used as a "" means of communication', according to The Korea Herald.

In the end, Kim developed KakaoTalk, which later merged with the portal Daum to become Kakao.

He is said to be preparing his children to take over

The Korea Times reported that Kim hired his son Kim Sang-bin and daughter Kim Ye-bin to work for K Cube Holdings, Kakao's parent company, in 2020. Insiders see the move as a move. measures to ensure a smooth succession. He also gave his wife and two children 60,000 Kakao shares, each worth more than $20 million.

Once involved in a gambling scandal

Kim Beom-su grew up in an impoverished family and obtained his wealth through a series of smart business steps.

Under Korean law, gambling is illegal both domestically and abroad. So when South Korean prosecutors received information from the US Department of Justice that Kim allegedly spent nearly 21 hours gambling at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas in 2007 - where he averaged... $2,440 per session and a loss of $16,993 over the course of the evening - it was a huge scandal.

A spokesperson for Kakao declined to comment on the investigation when it became public in 2015, according to The Korea Herald.

Sign The Giving Pledge

In March 2021, Kim signed The Giving Pledge, a promise by the world's wealthiest individuals - including the likes of Melinda Gates and Elon Musk - to dedicate the majority of their fortunes to causes. charity action.

Kim stepped down as chairman of Kakao in March 2022.

According to Korea JoongAng Daily, he said that his donation would be aimed at solving social problems, especially problems in education.

This year, he stepped down as chairman of Kakao's board to explore greater opportunities abroad in the mobile-focused platform business.

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