Kim Beom-soo (businessman)

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For other people with the same name, see Kim Bum-soo (disambiguation).
Kim Beom-soo
Kim Bum-soo, Chairman of board, Kakao Inc.jpg
Born (1966-03-08) 8 March 1966 (age 55)
NationalitySouth Korean
Other namesBrian Kim[1]
Alma materSeoul National University
OccupationChairman, Kakao
Children2
In this Korean name, the family name is Kim.

Kim Beom-soo, also known as Brian Kim, (born 8 March 1966) is a South Korean billionaire businessman, the founder and chairman of Kakao, a South Korean internet company.[3]

Early life and education[]

Kim grew up in one of Seoul's poorest neighbourhoods and is the third of five children. He was raised by his grandmother in a one-bedroom apartment as his parents worked. His father was a pen factory worker and his mother was a hotel maid with a grade-school education.[4][5]

He has a BSc degree in engineering, and an MSc degree, both from Seoul National University.[2]

Career[]

Kim's first job was as a developer for an online communication service at Samsung’s IT services unit.[6]

In 1998, Kim started Hangame with $184,000 he was given by friends and family. The company started as an internet café business but later became South Korea's first online gaming portal. He merged the company with web portal Naver in 2000 and later worked as a representative of NHN until 2007.[6][7][5]

Kim moved to Silicon Valley, California in 2005 and in 2006, created IWILAB, an incubator for Korean entrepreneurs in Mountain View.[5]

In 2010, he started KakaoTalk.[8] KakaoTalk is South Korea's biggest messaging app and is installed on 90% of the country's smartphones.[3]

In May 2021, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$11.2 billion.[3]

In the same year, Kim signed the Giving Pledge, committing to donate the majority of his wealth to philanthropy.[3]

Personal life[]

He is married with two children and lives in Seoul, South Korea.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ Kim Beom-Su "Brian" (Bloomberg L.P.)
  2. ^ a b c "Kim Beom-Su". Forbes. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d "Kim Beom-su". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  4. ^ Jennings, Ralph. "Kakao Founder Becomes Korea's Richest Person As Shares Of His Internet Giant Surge". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  5. ^ a b c Mac, Ryan. "How KakaoTalk's Billionaire Creator Ignited A Global Messaging War". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  6. ^ a b "Become an FT subscriber to read | Financial Times". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  7. ^ "Kakao chairman to donate half his wealth". koreatimes. 2021-02-08. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  8. ^ "Kakao's Kim eclipses Samsung heir as South Korea's richest man". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
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