Hiroshi Yamauchi
| Hiroshi Yamauchi | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Native name | 山内 溥 |
| Born |
November 7, 1927 Kyoto, Empire of Japan |
| Died | September 19, 2013 (aged 85) Sakyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan |
| Cause of death | Pneumonia |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Alma mater | Waseda University |
| Occupation | President and Chairman of Nintendo (1949–2005) |
| Net worth | $2.5 billion |
| Spouse(s) | Michiko Inaba (1945–2012) |
| Children | 3 |
Hiroshi Yamauchi (山内 溥 Yamauchi Hiroshi?, November 7, 1927 – September 19, 2013) was a Japanese businessman. He was the third president of Nintendo, joining the company in 1949 until stepping down on May 31, 2002, to be succeeded by Satoru Iwata. During his 53-year tenure, Yamauchi transformed Nintendo from a small-scale hanafuda card-making company that had been active solely in Japan, into a multibillion-dollar video game publisher and global conglomerate that it is today.
As of April 2013, Forbes estimated Yamauchi’s net worth at $2.1 billion; he was the 13th richest person in Japan and the 491st richest in the world. In 2008, Yamauchi was Japan’s wealthiest person with a fortune at that time estimated at $7.8 billion. At the time of his death, Yamauchi was the largest shareholder at Nintendo.
Yamauchi was born in Kyoto, where he was sent to a preparatory school at age twelve. He planned to study law or engineering, but World War II disrupted his studies. Since he was too young to fight, he was put to work in a military factory. Once the war ended in 1945, Yamauchi went to Waseda University to study law. He married Michiko Inaba. With the absence of Yamauchi’s father, who had abandoned his son and wife, Kimi, his grandparents met to arrange the marriage.
In 1947, Yamauchi's grandfather, the incumbent president of Nintendo, suffered a stroke. As he had no other immediate successor, he asked Yamauchi to come immediately to Nintendo to assume the position of president. He had to leave Waseda University to do so. Yamauchi would only accept the position if he were the only family member working at Nintendo. Reluctantly, Yamauchi's grandfather agreed, and died shortly thereafter. Under the agreement, his older cousin had to be fired. Due to his young age and total lack of management experience, most employees did not take Yamauchi seriously and resented him. Soon after taking over, he had to deal with a strike by factory employees who expected him to cave in easily. Instead, he asserted his authority by firing many long-time employees who questioned his authority. He had the company name changed to Nintendo Karuta and established its new headquarters in Kyoto. Yamauchi led Nintendo in a "notoriously imperialistic style". He was the sole judge of potential new products, and only a product that appealed to him and his instincts went on the market.
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