In 2010, Kim, a self-made technology entrepreneur, founded the South Korean Internet company, Kakao Corp.

Kakao Corp is the company behind KakaoTalk which is a free instant messaging application that also has a free text and call feature.  

Over the years, it has branched into hit games such as Cookie Run and Everybody’s Marble, taxi services, internet banking and more.

Considering how much the company has branched out and invested, it is no surprise that it is now the fourth-biggest company listed in South Korea. The company has a market value of about US$58 billion. 

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With social distancing and lockdowns, the demand for messaging, games and more has naturally increased exponentially. 

As a result, profits for Kakao Corp has tripled to about US$209 million in the first three months of 2021 as compared to the same time period last year.

In fact, though the company was already doing exceedingly well, the pandemic certainly boosted its popularity and profit.

As a result of growing up in poverty, Kim is very passionate about helping those less fortunate than him. In fact, earlier this year, Kim signed the Giving Pledge initiative which was started by Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Essentially, he promised to donate most of his expansive fortune to help solve the most pressing of the world’s social issues.

“Having grown up in poverty, up until my 30s, I regarded ‘becoming rich’ the sole measure of a successful life. However, after having achieved the wealth that I had aimed for, I was left feeling rudderless and lacking direction,” Mr Kim admitted in a statement when he took the pledge.

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