No Official Title or Public Face... Korean Sisters with '4 Trillion Won' in Assets

Nexon Late Kim Jung-ju's Two Daughters Become World's Youngest Billionaires

The eldest daughter Kim Jung-min (22) and the second daughter Kim Jung-yeon (20) of the late Kim Jung-ju, founder of Nexon, have been named the 'world's youngest billionaires.' The net worth of the two sisters, who are two years apart in age, is each estimated at $1.4 billion (approximately 1.895 trillion KRW) this year. Their faces and specific activities have not been disclosed to the public.

Late Nexon Founder Chairman Kim Jung-ju

The U.S. economic media Forbes released the list of the '2024 World's Youngest Billionaires' as of the 8th of last month (local time). Jung-min, born in 2002, ranked 5th, and Jung-yeon, born in 2004, ranked 3rd among the youngest billionaires.

Jung-min and Jung-yeon, along with Yoo Jung-hyun, director of NXC (Nexon's holding company) and wife of founder Kim Jung-ju, inherited about 10 trillion KRW in assets from Kim Jung-ju. They reported 6 trillion KRW in inheritance tax (inheritance tax rate of 60%). In 2022, they paid 29.3% of NXC shares to the government as inheritance tax. Forbes explained about them, "The late founder Kim Jung-ju held approximately 9% stakes each in the online game company Nexon through NXC, which he established in 1994. When their father passed away at the age of 54 in 2022, they inherited the shares," adding, "The sisters do not hold any official positions in the company."

Founder Kim Jung-ju established Nexon in 1994 with a capital of 60 million KRW. Starting with the online game 'Baram-ui Nara' (The Kingdom of the Winds), he successfully launched titles such as 'KartRider,' 'Crazy Arcade,' and 'MapleStory.' Several Koreans also appeared on another Forbes list, the '2024 New Billionaires.' Among them were Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, ranked 173rd with assets of $11.5 billion (approximately 15.6 trillion KRW), Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin ($7.3 billion, approx. 9.9 trillion KRW), and Meritz Financial Group Chairman Cho Jung-ho ($6.3 billion, approx. 8.5 trillion KRW), totaling about 30 individuals included in the Forbes billionaire list.

Bernard Arnault, Chairman of LVMH

Meanwhile, the world's richest person is Bernard Arnault, chairman of the French luxury group Louis Vuitton Mo?t Hennessy (LVMH), with an estimated net worth of $233 billion (approximately 314 trillion KRW). Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, ranked second with $195 billion (approximately 263.8 trillion KRW), and Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, ranked third with $194 billion (approximately 262.5 trillion KRW). By nationality, Americans were the most numerous with 813 people, followed by China and Hong Kong with 473 people in second place, and India with 200 people in third place.