Satoshi Tajiri

Pokemon has sold over 480 million video games and generated over $100 billion in total revenue. Tajiri still oversees the franchise. He rarely gives interviews. The bug-catching kid from Tokyo built the world's highest-grossing media franchise.

Founded Game Freak as a hand-stapled fanzine about arcade games. He reverse-engineered Donkey Kong to write strategy guides. The magazine sold thousands of copies at comic markets.

Saw two kids playing Game Boy with a link cable. He imagined insects crawling between the devices. That image became the concept for a game where creatures could be traded between players.

Pokemon Red and Green released in Japan after six years of development. Game Freak nearly went bankrupt during production. Five employees quit. Tajiri took no salary. He worked so obsessively he slept at the office for days.

Pokemon reached the U.S. and became the fastest-selling game in history. The franchise expanded into cards, an anime series, and a movie. Tajiri was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome around this time. He preferred working alone.