A WOMAN who swapped her A-levels for a summer gig in a gaming shop now boasts a staggering £130 million thanks to her video game empire.
Debbie Bestwick, 54, opted not to continue with the notoriously rigorous exams after finding her niche in the video game industry.
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The business-savvy Nottinghamshire woman excelled so much she quickly rose to management before moving into games development.
She was introduced to video game Football Manager which she played on her brother’s console aged just 12.
The keen gamer was keen to get her hands on some extra cash over the summer holidays and found an opening for a local video game store.
She rose through the ranks before founding Team17 – a British video game developer and publisher based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
The company is known for producing games like Worms, Overcooked and Dredge.
Debbie stepped down as Team17’s CEO on New Year’s Day this year but still serves as the company’s director.
She’s raked in around £130 million and owns Team17 shares worth just over £93 million according to The Sunday Times.
Debbie was awarded a prestigious MBE for her services to the video gaming industry and is one of its few female leaders.
But Debbie’s not the only one with video game prowess – Paul Wedgwood, also 54, is now worth £100 million no thanks to any formal qualifications.
In fact, Paul constantly bunked off school and was expelled at 15, with not even a single GCSE to his name.
He was even booted out of his south London school after skipping classes to code games on his ZXS Spectrum.
The computer whizz turned his life around by landing an IT job at a City bank.
Wedgwood set up gaming websites as a side hustle in his spare time, The Sunday Times reports.
In 2001 he set up Splash Damage, the video game firm behind hits like Doom 3 and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.
He sold the firm for $150million (£116) to a Chinese chicken supplier in 2016.
Now he invests in gaming start-ups through his private equity firm SuperNova Capital.
His fortune is estimated at £100million and he ranks at no. 15 in The Sunday Times Gaming Rich List.
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