Crazy to think that Shigeru M. had no equity, royalties or other type of deal when he invented Mario/ Donkey Kong/ Zelda. Only a standard salary.
Later on he sure got a bigger salary but still peanuts compared to how much Nintendo was making with these franchises.
Some more info from a 2010 Kotaku article: https://kotaku.com/mario-creator-doesnt-need-your-stinking-money-update-5576036
by MX010