Businessman, Sports Team Owner. He served as president of the Nintendo Company from 1949 until 2002. In 1992, he acquired majority proprietorship of the Seattle Mariners. After leaving Waseda University, he succeeded his grandfather as the third president of Nintendo and during his tenure at that capacity, the company which originally made playing cards went onto revolutionize the video game industry. Under his leadership, Nintendo yielded “Donkey Kong”, “Super Mario” and the Game Boy Console. In 1992 when the Seattle Mariners were in financial despair, Yamauchi stepped in and purchased the franchise and made history becoming the first non American to own a Major League Baseball team. In spite of his ownership of the Mariners, Yamauchi was never physically present to watch his team play in Seattle. In the year of his death, Yamauchi’s net worth was estimated by Forbes Magazine as being $2.1 billion dollars. He died of complications from pneumonia. (bio by: C.S.)