Stories about how to become a billionaire at the age of just 22 sound like a dream, but such a story happened with Kim Jeong Yun. According to the Forbes World's Billionaires List for 2026, she ranks among the youngest female tech billionaires. Her fortune was acquired not by creating her own startup, but through shares in the gaming company Nexon, founded by her father.
According to Forbes, Kim Jeong Yun's net worth on the 2026 list is approximately $1.7 billion. She is from South Korea, and the main source of her wealth is online gaming. In the Forbes list, she is among the youngest billionaires in the world at the age of 22. However, the oldest female billionaire this year is Emily Wright, who is 20 years old.
Kim Jeong Yun's father, Kim Jeong Joo, started Nexon in 1994. This company brought significant changes to the online gaming industry. Nexon released games such as MapleStory, KartRider, and Dungeon & Fighter, which gained popularity worldwide. According to Forbes, the company manages over 80 live games and has users in more than 72 countries.
Kim Jeong Joo focused not only on game development but also promoted the online gaming model where games can be played for free, and the company earns revenue through other means. Nexon is considered one of the first major players in this Free-to-Play model, which later became widespread in the gaming industry.
A major turning point in Kim Jeong Yun's life occurred in 2022 when her father, Kim Jeong Joo, passed away at the age of 54. After his death, his daughters, Kim Jeong Min and Kim Jeong Yun, received large stakes in the family company. A significant part of both sisters' wealth is linked to their shares in NXC, Nexon's largest holding company.
According to Forbes, both sisters own shares in NXC, which is the largest shareholder of Nexon, listed on the Japanese stock exchange. Kim Jeong Yun's stake is estimated at about 9 percent. It is important to understand that Kim Jeong Yun did not found Nexon herself nor does she manage the day-to-day operations of the company. Forbes notes that neither sister participates in Nexon's operational activities, and very little is known about their private lives. Their multi-billion dollar fortune is an inheritance from their father.
Kim Jeong Yun's name first attracted significant attention in 2022. At that time, Forbes named her one of the youngest billionaires in the world, when she was only 18 years old. After her father's death, she and her older sister received large stakes in NXC. Forbes reported at the time that the estimated fortune of both sisters was around $1 billion after accounting for high inheritance tax in South Korea. Thus, the story of becoming a billionaire at such a young age is due to the long-term work of a major company and family inheritance.
The story of Nexon is not just a tale of one family's wealth. The company expanded from South Korea and Japan to establish its place in the global online gaming market. Games such as MapleStory and Dungeon & Fighter have long been among the company's most famous products. This is why the stake in Nexon allowed the Kim family to enter the ranks of the wealthiest families in technology and gaming.


