Magic touch of £200m ex-refugee

ALEX Nichiporchik is a true citizen of nowhere. Born in Latvia in 1988 to a Ukrainian mother and Belarusian father, he and his family were left stateless when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. But this did not stop him from pursuing his passion – gaming. Watching his mot h e r p l a y v i d e o g a mes throughout his childhood, Nichiporchik was hooked before he could even read.

He dropped out of school in his early teens to become a professional gamer and, when that failed, turned his hand to gaming journalism.

The young Latvian moved to the Netherlands in his early 20s, where he was classified as a refugee, even though the country of his birth had by then joined the European Union. He then went to America, where tinyBuild was officially founded in 2013.

Doing business as a citizen of nowhere had its challenges, but Nichiporchik persevered and tinyBuild was listed on the UK’s AIM market in March this year. It is now is now valued at more than £500 million, making Nichiporchik, with a 38 per cent stake, a very wealthy man. Aged 32, he now has a green card but remains stateless and has never been able to vote.

His parents still live in Latvia, where h i s mo t h e r is a competitive gamer, ranking top five in the world in Harvest Honors, a game which is played by two million people.