The Documentary Podcast

Bonus: Good Bad Billionaire: Minecraft’s maker


Listen Later

A bonus episode from Good Bad Billionaire - the award-winning podcast from the BBC World Service. You can find more episodes by searching for ‘Good Bad Billionaire’ wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

Minecraft is the most successful computer game ever. It's sold 300 million copies, built an active community of fans and there's now even a Minecraft movie. So how did one man - Markus Persson - create it all by himself, before selling it for billions?

BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng find out how a high school dropout, obsessed with Lego and gaming, became a computer game hero. The Swedish programmer, known by the nickname Notch, built a virtual 3D world where, with the help of a pickaxe, players could harness their creativity to build almost anything, one block at a time. Persson founded the video game development company Mojang Studios, before selling it to Microsoft, but then came a spectacular downfall.

Good Bad Billionaire is the podcast exploring the lives of the super-rich and famous, tracking their wealth, philanthropy, business ethics and success. There are leaders who made their money in Silicon Valley, on Wall Street and in high street fashion. From iconic celebrities and CEOs to titans of technology, the podcast unravels tales of fortune, power, economics, ambition and moral responsibility, before inviting you to make up your own mind: are they good, bad or just another billionaire?

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Documentary PodcastBy BBC World Service

  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3

4.3

1,604 ratings


More shows like The Documentary Podcast

View all
Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,583 Listeners

The Archers by BBC Radio 4

The Archers

1,080 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

378 Listeners

Business Daily by BBC World Service

Business Daily

522 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,057 Listeners

World Business Report by BBC World Service

World Business Report

296 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,463 Listeners

Witness History by BBC World Service

Witness History

964 Listeners

The History Hour by BBC World Service

The History Hour

589 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,747 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,042 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,085 Listeners

The Interview by BBC World Service

The Interview

359 Listeners

Lives Less Ordinary by BBC World Service

Lives Less Ordinary

592 Listeners

Discovery by BBC World Service

Discovery

973 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

403 Listeners

The Inquiry by BBC World Service

The Inquiry

745 Listeners

The Audio Long Read by The Guardian

The Audio Long Read

848 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,187 Listeners

The Bomb by BBC World Service

The Bomb

1,029 Listeners

The Global Story by BBC World Service

The Global Story

331 Listeners

The Explanation by BBC World Service

The Explanation

25 Listeners