Richard Garriott made lots of money creating the hit Ultima series of fantasy role-playing games. He’s made some more from a flop — almost enough to cover the cost of a recent ride into space.
In 2007, following in the footsteps of his father, Garriott became an astronaut, spending $30 million to get a ride into space on a commercial Space Adventures rocket.
In the meantime, the online game that he spent six years making, Tabula Rasa, bombed in the market. His employer, NCSoft, fired him. Then it forced him to sell off his stock within 90 days, rather than allowing him to do so over 10 years. His contract required that he be allowed to sell stock over a longer period of time in case he were fired. Garriott asked for a $47 million award, but a jury awarded him $28 million after finding in his favor.
AI Weekly
The must-read newsletter for AI and Big Data industry written by Khari Johnson, Kyle Wiggers, and Seth Colaner.
Included with VentureBeat Insider and VentureBeat VIP memberships.
If the jury award holds up, Garriott may recoup almost all of the cost of his space trip.
Garriott has since started a new Facebook games company.
VentureBeat's mission is to be a digital town square for technical decision-makers to gain knowledge about transformative enterprise technology and transact. Learn More