The Ledger / Cai Haoyu
Cai Haoyu
◼ Origin
Co-founded Shanghai-based game developer miHoYo in 2012 with college friends Liu Wei and Luo Yuhao; the studio produced Genshin Impact, which generated $5B+ in player spending within four years of its 2020 release. Cai stepped down as chairman in 2023.
◼ Self-Made Verdict — YES
Co-founded miHoYo from scratch with college friends in 2012; Genshin Impact's success was the result of original creative and engineering work.
◼ Documented marks
01
Co-founded miHoYo in 2012 with college friends Liu Wei and Luo Yuhao at Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Genshin Impact (2020) became the highest-grossing mobile RPG globally, earning $5B+ in its first four years.
02
Stepped down as miHoYo chairman in 2023 for undisclosed reasons; the transition occurred amid Chinese regulatory pressure on gaming companies and a broader government crackdown on tech sector ownership concentrations.
03
miHoYo's games are subject to China's minors' gaming curfew and spending limits; the company earns the majority of its revenue from adult players through gacha mechanics — randomized loot systems that some jurisdictions classify as gambling.
No inheritance, or primary accounts documented for this billionaire yet.
◼ List of charges
No documented charges yet.
These are moral charges, not legal ones. The actual legal system has not — and will not — bring them.
More ledger entries