He may be retired, but Hiroshi Yamauchi still rakes it in as chairman of Nintendo, and Wii sales have helped him become the wealthiest business bloke in Japan.

The business-monitoring online magazine Forbes.com has published a report on “Japan's 40 wealthiest businesspeople” for 2007-2008. Fresh at the top of the list is 81-year old Hiroshi Yamauchi, president of Nintendo from 1949 until 2002 and now serving as chairman. Yes, he is still very much to be feared.

According to Forbes’ writer Kiyoe Minami, Yamauchi’s net worth has tripled since 2006 and Minami cites Wii as the driving force behind his US $7.8 billion horde. Just to put this in perspective Yamauchi has beaten construction tycoons, and heads of security firms to be in this position. Other videogame gurus are not far behind, with Konami’s Kagemasa Kozuki, and Koei’s Keiko Erikawa making the list.

We’d say Yamauchi is a true genius, and recommend that you read “Game Over” by David Sheff if you want to know the reasons why. If it wasn’t for Yamauchi we’d be nowhere… him and Shigeru Miyamoto are video-gaming’s Keith Richards and Mick Jagger. Something like that.