--- description: Minecraft inventor Markus Persson's melancholy tweets raise eyebrows. title: Minecraft Inventor Persson: Being a Billionaire Is Lonely image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbeb1f29e232e8ad4/698861a5428a9e457eccee3b/fortune-e-1508311.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Minecraft Inventor Markus Persson: Being a Billionaire Is Lonely by [John Kell / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## John Kell / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 31, 2015 3:00 PM CUT  Swedish programmer and creator of Minecraft Markus Persson. Swedish programmer and creator of Minecraft Markus Persson.Yui Mok—PA Wire/Press Association Images by [John Kell / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## John Kell / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 31, 2015 3:00 PM CUT 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](http://recode.net/2015/08/29/minecraft-billionaire-markus-persson-hates-being-a-billionaire/ "undefined") Persson seemed lonely and isolated while hanging out in glamorous Ibiza. Persson, you may recall, scored a [massive deal](http://fortune.com/2014/09/15/mojang-microsoft-acquisition/ "undefined") when the developer company he founded – Mojang – was acquired by Microsoft 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: > [](https://twitter.com/notch/status/637563733124980736) After the tweets lead to national headlines, Persson on Monday chided the media, and said he’s doing just fine these days. > [](https://twitter.com/notch/status/638312801937850368) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4017155/minecraft-persson-lonely-billionaire/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4017155/minecraft-persson-lonely-billionaire/"},"headline":"Minecraft Inventor Markus Persson: Being a Billionaire Is Lonely","datePublished":"2015-08-31T15:00:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:06:30.091Z","description":"His melancholy tweets are raising eyebrows","url":"https://time.com/4017155/minecraft-persson-lonely-billionaire/","keywords":["Tech","Minecraft","Microsoft","Gaming","Billionaire","pubdesk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbeb1f29e232e8ad4/698861a5428a9e457eccee3b/fortune-e-1508311.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"John Kell / Fortune"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbeb1f29e232e8ad4/698861a5428a9e457eccee3b/fortune-e-1508311.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GAME British Academy Video Games Awards - London","caption":"GAME British Academy Video Games Awards - London","creditText":"Yui Mok—PA Wire/Press Association Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4017155/minecraft-persson-lonely-billionaire/","name":"Minecraft Inventor Markus Persson: Being a Billionaire Is Lonely"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Game of Blocks: The Man Who Built Westeros in Minecraft","description":"The continent of Westeros is home to 'Game of Thrones' and now exists in the virtual world of Minecraft. 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