• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechMarkus Persson

Minecraft inventor Markus Persson: Being a billionaire is lonely

By
John Kell
John Kell
Contributing Writer and author of CIO Intelligence
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
John Kell
John Kell
Contributing Writer and author of CIO Intelligence
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 31, 2015, 10:54 AM ET
GAME British Academy Video Games Awards - London
GAME British Academy Video Games Awards - London. Swedish programmer and creator of Minecraft Markus Persson with his Special Award at the GAME British Academy Video Games Awards at The London Hilton, London. Issue date: Friday March 16, 2012. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA URN:13074509Photograph by Yui Mok — PA Wire/AP

Is it tough being a billionaire? Minecraft creator Markus Persson recently seemed to suggest he isn’t fully enjoying his financial freedom.

A series of Tweets that Persson sent out caught the attention of several members of the media, with Re/code and others claiming Persson seemed lonely and isolated while hanging out in glamorous Ibiza.

Persson, you may recall, scored a massive deal when the developer company he founded – Mojang – was acquired by Microsoft (MSFT) for $2.5 billion. He left the company to start his own projects, thus Persson is no longer associated with the game he created.

The deal is part of why his personal worth has been pegged at about $1.3 billion, according to Forbes.

Here’s an example of a tweet that caught the media’s attention:

Found a great girl, but she's afraid of me and my life style and went with a normal person instead.

— notch (@notch) August 29, 2015

After the tweets lead to national headlines, Persson on Monday chided the media, and said he’s doing just fine these days.

fwiw, while there are articles about my depression because I had a bad day and vented on a trend I saw, I'm sitting here having a nice day.

— notch (@notch) August 31, 2015

About the Author
By John KellContributing Writer and author of CIO Intelligence

John Kell is a contributing writer for Fortune and author of Fortune’s CIO Intelligence newsletter.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

robots
InnovationRobots
‘The question is really just how long it will take’: Over 2,000 gather at Humanoids Summit to meet the robots who may take their jobs someday
By Matt O'Brien and The Associated PressDecember 12, 2025
2 hours ago
Man about to go into police vehicle
CryptoCryptocurrency
Judge tells notorious crypto scammer ‘you have been bitten by the crypto bug’ in handing down 15 year sentence 
By Carlos GarciaDecember 12, 2025
3 hours ago
three men in suits, one gesturing
AIBrainstorm AI
The fastest athletes in the world can botch a baton pass if trust isn’t there—and the same is true of AI, Blackbaud exec says
By Amanda GerutDecember 12, 2025
3 hours ago
Brainstorm AI panel
AIBrainstorm AI
Creative workers won’t be replaced by AI—but their roles will change to become ‘directors’ managing AI agents, executives say
By Beatrice NolanDecember 12, 2025
4 hours ago
Fei-Fei Li, the "Godmother of AI," says she values AI skills more than college degrees when hiring software engineers for her tech startup.
AITech
‘Godmother of AI’ says degrees are less important in hiring than ‘how quickly can you superpower yourself’ with new tools
By Nino PaoliDecember 12, 2025
6 hours ago
C-SuiteFortune 500 Power Moves
Fortune 500 Power Moves: Which executives gained and lost power this week
By Fortune EditorsDecember 12, 2025
6 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Tariffs are taxes and they were used to finance the federal government until the 1913 income tax. A top economist breaks it down
By Kent JonesDecember 12, 2025
12 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
At 18, doctors gave him three hours to live. He played video games from his hospital bed—and now, he’s built a $10 million-a-year video game studio
By Preston ForeDecember 10, 2025
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Palantir cofounder calls elite college undergrads a ‘loser generation’ as data reveals rise in students seeking support for disabilities, like ADHD
By Preston ForeDecember 11, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Arts & Entertainment
'We're not just going to want to be fed AI slop for 16 hours a day': Analyst sees Disney/OpenAI deal as a dividing line in entertainment history
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 11, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Investing
Baby boomers have now 'gobbled up' nearly one-third of America's wealth share, and they're leaving Gen Z and millennials behind
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 8, 2025
4 days ago
placeholder alt text
Uncategorized
Transforming customer support through intelligent AI operations
By Lauren ChomiukNovember 26, 2025
16 days ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.