Until recently, the position of "richest man in the state of North Carolina" didn't seem like a competitive one. James "Jim" Goodnight, billionaire software developer and co-founder of SAS Institute, had held the position comfortably for several years. Reports published early in April seemed to indicate that Goodnight, whose fortune is currently valued at $6.5 billion, would retain control of the title in 2021, despite developer Epic Games outperforming SAS among North Carolina-based businesses.
However, a recent report from Forbes indicates that Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney's wealth has surpassed that of Goodnight. Sweeney held the second place position for years, with a fortune of just under $5 billion dollars as calculated by Forbes. However, a major investment in Epic Games by Sony caused Sweeney's assets to skyrocket to approximately $7.4 billion dollars over the course of just a few weeks.
In a statement to Forbes, Epic confirmed that the company's value had increased to $28.7 billion dollars following the Sony investment. It also credited the success of popular battle royale title Fortnite, which had one of its most successful months ever in December 2020 and continues to perform well in 2021. Sweeney remains the company's primary shareholder, with an investment of 22 percent.
Sweeney has been extremely optimistic regarding Epic's current and future success despite a difficult year for the company. Earlier in 2021, it was reported that the Epic Games Store was causing the company to lose money due to the amount required to secure rights to various popular titles. Fans were also disappointed with the Store as they felt that it featured too many exclusives and drained the battery of devices too quickly. However, in the midst of this conflict, Sweeney took to Twitter to announce that the Epic Games Store was in fact a financial success for the company.
It remains to be seen whether Epic Games' value will continue to increase or instead experience a decrease as 2021 continues. The company is still embroiled in a lawsuit with Apple, which pulled Fortnite from its App Store following payment changes by Epic which were considered to go against the App Store's policies. The trial is ongoing, with both Sweeney and Apple CEO Tim Cook scheduled to testify.
Sweeney's surpassing of Goodnight in wealth has met mixed responses among residents of North Carolina. Goodnight is generally seen as a public figure who has made strong contributions to community improvement, including founding the luxury Umstead Hotel and Spa and prep school Cary Academy. However, Epic did recently acquire the former Cary Towne Center Mall, which it plans to turn into the company's new headquarters. Some residents are hopeful that this new Epic campus might create additional job opportunities in North Carolina.
Source: Forbes