Tim Sweeney is a name that some will readily recognize, while others may not know who exactly he is. In the business world, he’s a billionaire entrepreneur. In the gaming universe, he’s the developer of Epic Games and he serves as the CEO of the company. He’s built a fortune in the gaming industry, but how did he do it? We were curious about who he is and how he built an empire. Our search to learn more revealed these 10 interesting facts about Tim that you might not already know.
1. Tim Sweeney is a native of Potomac, Maryland
Tim hails from the east coast of the United States, born in Potomac, Maryland in 1970. This would make him 50 years old as of 2020. He even attended college in his home state, enrolling at the University of Maryland in 1989 in the mechanical engineering program.
2. Tim Sweeney appreciates simple pleasures
According to Business Insider, although Tim is a multi-billionaire, he’s a regular guy who has kept his feet on the ground. He knows the value of enjoying the simple things in life. He still likes to pick up an order of Bojangles’ fried chicken and wash it down with a diet Coke.
3. He launched his first business before leaving home
While Sweeney was still living at home with his mother and father, the young entrepreneur launched his very first business. He called it Potomac Computer Systems. He ran the business form his parents’ home. It was a consulting business designed to assist computer owners, however, the business didn’t get off the ground so he moved on to other things. This shows that he had a vision to own a company though.
4. He’s the CEO of the company that makes Fortnite
Fortnite is one of the most popular video games in the world currently. There are more than 250 million people playing the game. If you’ll look on the label of the case it proudly displays the name of the company Epic Games.
5. Raising capital to expand Epic Games hasn’t been an issue
Most people in the business world know that in most cases it takes money to make money. Epic Games, under the leadership of Tim Sweeney raised 1.25 billion dollars from large investors including Vulcan Capital, Kleiner Perkins, and others. The largest investor for Epic Games is Tencent, a Chinese tech company that willingly invested $330 million for a 48% stake in the company in 2012, according to Forbes.
6. Tim Sweeney made it to a few of the Forbes’ lists
Sweeney has been listed on two of the distinguished Forbes’ lists. This is quite an accomplishment as it’s generally a who’s who compendium of the richest people in the world. For the 2020 year, Tim is listed as number 123 on the Forbes 400 list for 2020. Additionally, he is mentioned on the Billionaires 2020 list in the 383 position. Furthermore, he is listed as a self-made billionaire in the video games sector of business with a high score of 8 out of 10
7. He was inspired by his older brother
Tim’s older brother had a new startup business in California. When he was 11 years old, he went to spend a week with his brother and he visited the business where he was allowed access to one of the first IBM Personal Computers. He ended up staying for weeks and he learned BASIC which kicked off his interest in programming. He became an avid gamer in his teen years. He spent more than 10,000 hours learning programming and he is self taught. His brother’s entrepreneurial spirit inspired him to become one himself.
8. He has a net worth of $9 billion
Celebritynetworth.com reports that Tim Sweeney has a net worth of $9 billion. The American game developer has earned his fortune as co-founder of Epic Games, a company that has created some of the most popular games in the world. He also earns an annual salary serving as CEO of Epic Games. In addition to launching Fortnite, one of the most widely played games in the world currently, he created the Unreal Engine which is a game development platform.
9. Tim isn’t good at playing Fortnite
One would think that the person who is in part, responsible for the development of one of the most popular video games on the planet would have a measure of advanced skills in playing the game. This isn’t the case for Time Sweeney, at least when it comes to Fortnite. Sweeney admits that he’s not that great of a player. This was proven when he entered into a tournament recently. He played a total of 12 matches and his “timid” combat style contributed to his lackluster performance in the competition.
10. Tim’s done his share of menial work
Sweeney worked hard when he was a teenager. He also made quite a bit of money doing odd jobs and staying busy working. He worked at a local hardware store job, but he soon discovered that if he worked for wealthy residents, and undercut the professional services by half, he could make more money. This is how he got into lawn mowing for the wealthy. This is one more thing that he learned from his older brother. It shows that he was destined for greatness and he didn’t mind working hard to achieve his goals.
No comments: