To make it onto the NBR Rich List, your net worth needs to be at least $50 million. This year we have identified some rising stars who are likely candidates in future years.
As the co-founder of Grinding Gear Games, Chris Wilson hit pay dirt in 2018 when he sold the video game developer to the giant Chinese tech company Tencent Mobility for an undisclosed sum that "exceeds $100 million" according to the Overseas Investment Office.
Founded in a West Auckland garage in 2006 by Wilson and his business partner, Jonathon Rogers, Grinding Gear Games is best known for Path of Exile, which was released in 2013 and grew to have more than 2 million monthly active players and more than 20 million sign-ups.
The Chinese buyout conservatively valued Wilson’s shareholding at a minimum of $42.7m. However, because of the staged nature of the acquisition, he retained a 13% stake and has stayed with the company to oversee further expansion from its Henderson base.
Having graduated from the University of Auckland in 2004 with a bachelor of science (with first-class honours in computer science) and with a bachelor of commerce, Wilson initially worked on software security to provide the funds required to co-found and invest in Grinding Gear Games.
Modest and self-effacing, he appears to have no plans to go crazy with his newfound wealth. “I’m happy with my current house and I don’t drive,” he says.