FarmVille maker and Zynga CEO Mark Pincus is worth $1 billion

Surely, Sean Parker is somewhere responding to the news with, "Yes, $1 billion is cooler." Forbes reports that Mark Pincus, the CEO of Zynga, is officially worth $1 billion. (Cue the pinkie-in-mouth maneuvers.) The report comes after Pincus made Forbes' annual Billionaires List, joining like veterans like Apple CEO Steve Jobs and, of course, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates among 214 newcomers.

At this point, Zynga has been valued by some at $10 billion, making it worth more than EA and just $3 billion short of Activision Blizzard. According to Forbes, it's all thanks to the company's revenue strategy: Offer the game for free, but rely on the small five percent of gamers that will spend on virtual goods. Though, an extensive business background of Wall Street brokering, an MBA from Harvard and several tech start-ups under his belt certainly didn't hurt.

[Image Credit: Robyn Twomey]

What are your thoughts on social gaming bringing someone into the Billionaires List? Do you think Zynga's rapid success has affected its games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.