Social Media’s Ultra Wealth Class

When the internet first landed in our lives at the end of the last century, few people could have realized how central it would become to our lives in the modern era. But thanks to the efforts to a few very enterprising individuals, it’s helped all of us live ever more interconnected lives while they have become very rich in the process.

Mark Zuckerberg

Anybody who’s watched the 2010 biopic, The Social Network, will get a good idea of how Mark Zuckerberg used a fierce business acumen and technological prowess to make Facebook a household name. And with a personal fortune that’s been estimated to be worth $53.8 billion, he’s become a celebrity in his own right. Thankfully he’s used his wealth and fame to great effect with many philanthropic projects including one that helped combat the West African Ebola epidemic.

Kevin Systrom

Another smart social media boss who’s joined the ranks of tech billionaires is Instagram’s Kevin Systrom. While most of us have been using this social media network to post pictures of our food, Systrom successfully marketed Instagram as part of the next wave of visually focused social media apps. Not that the Instagram CEO is resting on his laurels however, as Systrom has already hatched plans for improving Instagram with virtual reality technologies so that it emulates time travel. Not bad for someone who only got into coding through programming their own levels in the Doom 2 video game.

Felix Kjellberg

One enterprising individual who’s stayed in the gaming realm is Felix Kjellberg, a.k.a PewDiePie. With his own YouTube channel clocking up 13 billion video views of his idiosyncratic comedy and gaming antics, it’s a good lesson that gaming can sometimes pay off in unexpected ways.  This shows just how quickly the internet can transform our financial outlook.

There are plenty of other examples of individuals creatively using social media to boost their profiles and make them the targets of so called ‘influencer marketing’. Although the likes of Kim Kardashian aren’t renowned for their technological know how, they are able to use these technologies to devastating effect in promoting their lifestyle brands.

And while Kjellberg has often courted controversy and probably doesn’t follow the advice that entrepreneurship should serve others, it shows that everything from social media apps, to gaming channels, and even Mega Moolah slots games can deliver some incredible overnight wealth.