Hajime Satomi, the Chairman and Group CEO of Sega Sammy Holdings, is one of two pachinko industry veterans named on the 2024 Forbes list of Japan’s Richest 50.
Satomi came in at No 47 on this year’s list with a fortune estimated at US$1.06 billion – down from US$1.3 billion in 2023.
The 82-year-old founded Sammy Corporation and began selling his first pachislot machines in 1975. In 2004 he formed Sega Sammy after Sammy Corp purchased a controlling share in video game giant Sega – the conglomerate having since ventured into integrated resort operations via a 45% stake in Korean integrated resort Paradise City.
Satomi has, however, seen his fortune gradually erode in recent years according to Forbes, which had him at a peak of US$1.5 billion back in 2007.
Sitting higher on this year’s list is Hideyuki Busujima and family, whose US$3.9 billion fortune is good enough for 12th.
Hideyuki is chairman of pachinko-machine maker Sankyo and the son of the company’s founder Kunio Busujima, who died in October 2016, although Forbes noted that the US$3.9 billion calculation includes the shareholding of his two sisters.
Topping this year’s list of Japan’s Richest 50 is Uniqlo’s Tadashi Yanai with US$38 billion, while the biggest gainer in dollar terms was SoftBank Group’s Masayoshi Son, who reclaimed the No 2 position after adding US$6.1 billion to take his wealth to US$27 billion.
The fortunes of 16 tycoons on the list were higher than a year ago, Forbes said.
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