Kwon Hyuk-bin
Kwon Hyuk-bin | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1974 (age 50–51) |
| Nationality | South Korean |
| Other names | HyukBin Kwon or Kwon Hyuk-bin |
| Alma mater | Sogang University (BEng.) |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, investor, philanthropist |
| Title | Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Smilegate |
Kwon Hyuk-bin (Korean: 권혁빈; born 1974)[1] is a South Korean businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He is a billionaire who founded South Korea's third-largest gaming company Smilegate, in 2002. Smilegate is the maker of popular games such as Crossfire, Lost Ark, and others. Crossfire is the most popular first-person shooter game in history.[2]
He is among the richest people in South Korea. In April 2025, Forbes estimated his net wealth at US$2.55 billion and ranked him 13th richest in the country.[3]
Education and career
[edit]Kwon holds an electrical engineering degree from Sogang University.[citation needed] After a failed education startup, 4Csof, Kwon turned down a software engineering position at Samsung to pursue his goal of developing video games. He partnered with Tencent to break into the Chinese high-technology market.[4][1][5]
Philanthropy
[edit]Kwon operates three foundations: Hope Studio, a social contribution foundation; Orange Planet Entrepreneurship Foundation, which supports young entrepreneurs; and Future Lab, which contributes to expanding creative education environments for children and youth.[6] He has donated over $5 million to building schools in Vietnam and China.[4] He has also contributed over $2 million to his alma mater at Sogang University.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "THE INVESTOR". www.theinvestor.co.kr.
- ^ Chung, Grace. "Online Hit Game CrossFire Mints South Korea's Richest Self-Made Billionaire". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-04-18.
- ^ HO", "JANE. "Forbes 2025 Korea's 50 Richest List - Korea's Billionaires Ranked". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-04-18.
- ^ a b Chung, Grace. "Online Hit Game CrossFire Mints South Korea's Richest Self-Made Billionaire". Forbes.
- ^ "[Super Rich] Seven numbers to explain self-made billionaire owner of Smilegate". 22 December 2016.
- ^ "ORANGE PLANET | Smilegate". www.smilegate.com. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
- ^ "Bio". wealthx.com. Archived from < the original on 2018-02-20.