Phil Elliott
12:01 (BST)
21/02/2008
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Videogames people hit UK rich list
Traveller's Tales and Jagex founders in Telegraph's young top 40
The ever-rising popularity of videogames is propelling some figures in the UK games industry to sit alongside media tycoons and property magnates, according to the release of the latest edition of the Daily Telegraph's Made it By 40 list.
Jon Burton, former majority owner of developer Traveller's Tales - sold to Warner Bros for an undisclosed fee estimated to be in the region of GBP 100 million last year - was number 20 in the list, with a valuation of GBP 73 million.
The Telegraph notes that the Lego games developer recorded pre-tax profits of GBP 13 million last year, while Burton's salary was in the region of GBP 6.2 million.
Meanwhile higher on the list are the Gower brothers, Andrew and Paul, who sit at joint 11th with a combined valuation of GBP 110 million.
The pair, around 80 per cent owners of developer Jagex and its hugely successful online role-playing title Runescape saw pre-tax profits hit GBP 15 million recently, and will have benefited from a share of a dividend payment of GBP 8.6 million.
The Daily Telegraph's Made it By 40 list measures the wealthiest business people born, or based over a long period of time, in the UK that are 40 or under in 2008.
The top ten list has not yet been revealed.
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