Kim Beom-soo, also known as Brian Kim, (born 8 March 1966) is a South Korean billionaire businessman, the founder and chairman of

Kakao Kakao ( ko, 카카오) is a South Korean internet company that was established in 2010. It formed as a result of a merger between Daum Communications and the original Kakao Inc. In 2014, the company was renamed Daum Kakao. The company rebrande ...

, a South Korean internet company.

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. He has a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

degree in engineering, and an MSc degree, both from Seoul National University.

Career

Kim's first job was as a developer for an online communication service at Samsung’s IT services unit. In 1998, Kim started

Hangame Hangame ( ko, 한게임) (also known as Hange ( ja, ハンゲ) and formerly known as NHN Hangame ( ja, NHNハンゲーム) in Japan) is a popular South Korean online game portal operated by NHN Corporation. Launched in December 1999, Hangame offe ...

with $184,000 he was given by friends and family. The company started as an

internet café An Internet café, also known as a cybercafé, is a café (or a convenience store or a fully dedicated Internet access business) that provides the use of computers with high bandwidth Internet access on the payment of a fee. Usage is generall ...

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. Kim moved to

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in 2005 and in 2006, created IWILAB, an incubator for Korean entrepreneurs in Mountain View. In 2010, he started KakaoTalk. KakaoTalk is South Korea's biggest messaging app and is installed on 90% of the country's smartphones. In May 2021, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' estimated his net worth at US$11.2 billion. In the same year, Kim signed the Giving Pledge, committing to donate the majority of his wealth to philanthropy.

Personal life

He is married with two children and lives in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

, South Korea.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Beom-soo 1966 births Living people South Korean billionaires South Korean businesspeople Seoul National University alumni People from Seoul People from South Jeolla Province