Top 10 Youngest Self-Made Billionaires in the World Today (Under 35)
According to Forbes magazine's latest ranking of individuals with estimated assets of over $1 billion, there are currently more than 2,871 individuals on earth who can claim the title of billionaire. Together, they represent a total of $14.2 trillion.
It is worth mentioning that all 25 of the world's richest billionaires under 30 are heirs, none are self-made billionaires.
In the article and list below, KnowInsiders honors the Top 10 youngest billionaires in the world with self-made wealth.
Learn more: All Young Billionaires (Under 30): Inheritances (Forbes 2024)
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| Youngest Self-Made Billionaires in the World |
1. Gary Wang
Gary Wang, whose cryptocurrency exchange company, FTX, made him the youngest self-made billionaire at the age of thirty. But in November 2022, the empire he and Sam Bankman-Fried co-founded collapsed, badly damaged by the quick withdrawal of user capital that resulted in FTX, FTX's U.S. operations, and Alameda Research filing for bankruptcy.
Wang's significant wealth was derived from a 16% holding in FTX and FTT tokens; however, because of the volatility of the cryptocurrency market, his net worth is now zero.
2. Palmer Luckey
Palmer Luckey, a 31-year-old with a $2.3 billion net worth, started the virtual reality startup Oculus VR in 2012 and sold it to Facebook for $2 billion in cash and stock in 2014. Notably, at the remarkable age of sixteen, he developed Oculus Rift, the company's first virtual reality headset.
After leaving Facebook in 2016, Luckey founded the defense startup Anduril the following year. Anduril wanted to raise $1 billion by 2022 at a valuation of $8 billion. Luckey's innovative work goes beyond gaming; via the revolutionary applications of virtual reality technology, it has an impact on a variety of sectors, including healthcare and education.
3. Ben Francis
With a $1.3 billion net worth, Ben Francis is the founder and CEO of Gymshark, a well-known sportswear company with headquarters in Solihull, England. He has made a name for himself in the fitness industry. He retained 70% ownership of the company after making a significant move in August 2020, selling a 21% stake to the private equity firm General Atlantic, valuing the business at $1.45 billion.
At the age of 19, Francis and his friend Lewis Morgan co-founded Gymshark in their parents' garage. They used social media partnerships with fitness influencers to drive the brand's expansion. Gymshark began in 2012 when the founder was a college student delivering pizzas. Since then, the company has grown internationally, opening an office in Denver and its first physical location on Regent Street in London in October 2022. Francis's brand, which offers stylish and high-quality activewear, not only increases his wealth but also makes a lasting impression on the fitness fashion scene.
Who is the youngest billionaire in the world?2024 will see the completion of Forbes Economic Magazine's list of the world's 25 youngest billionaires. At the summit was Livia Voigt, a 19-year-old girl. She is originally from Brazil and, because of her minority ownership in the electrical equipment manufacturer WEG, has amassed a fortune of approximately 1.1 billion dollars.
The publicly traded business, which was co-founded by her late grandfather Werner Ricardo Voigt, is billed as the biggest industrial electric motor manufacturer in the United States. Notably, WEG turned over roughly $6 billion in revenue in 2022. |
4. Andy Fang, Stanley Tang
With a combined net worth of $1.2 billion, Andy Fang and Stanley Tang are well-known figures in the food delivery app industry. They co-founded the popular platform DoorDash and are currently Head of Consumer Engineering and Head of Labs in San Francisco, respectively.
Fang and Tang, who own a significant 4% share in DoorDash, which went public on the New York Stock Exchange in December 2020, have capitalized on consumers' growing demand for quick and easy meal options. They are among the youngest self-made billionaires thanks to their creative contributions to the food-tech sector and entrepreneurial spirit.
Learn more: Top 14 Billionaires of Hollywood - Richest Celebrity Billionaires
5. Sam Bankman-Fried
In November 2022, Sam Bankman-Fried, a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency space, experienced a dramatic decline as investors quickly withdrew their money from his FTX exchange. Bankman-Fried filed for bankruptcy on behalf of Alameda Research, FTX, and FTX's U.S. operations. His empire failed, even though he was praised for saving faltering cryptocurrency companies.
After its 2019 launch, FTX developed into a significant cryptocurrency derivatives market, with a $40 billion valuation at the beginning of 2022. Though his net worth has since dropped to zero as a result of market swings, Bankman-influence Fried Fried's underscores the dangers as well as opportunities in the erratic cryptocurrency space.
6. John Collison
The co-founder and president of Stripe, a platform that enables online payments for individuals and businesses, John Collison, has a net worth of $7.2 billion. In April 2020, the company raised $850 million in funding, valuing it at $36 billion. This was a major accomplishment for Collison. The concept for Stripe was developed while he and his brother Patrick were MIT students in Cambridge.
Collison's company has changed the way that payments are made online, especially in reaction to the growing e-commerce industry. His accomplishments demonstrate the potential for global impact and transformation that creative fintech solutions can achieve.
7. Evan Spiegel
With a $3.1 billion net worth, 33-year-old Evan Spiegel is well-known for co-founding Snapchat and for having a significant influence on the development of social media. At the tender age of 25, Spiegel became a billionaire as the CEO of Snap, where he oversaw a platform where 397 million users sent disappearing photos and videos every day.
Spiegel, who co-founded Snapchat with Bobby Murphy in 2011 and dropped out of Stanford six years later to launch the app, earned a B.S. in product design in 2018. His commitment to user privacy and cutting-edge features has kept Snapchat relevant in spite of the competitive market. Spiegel's story serves as an excellent example of how innovation can be crucial to success in the rapidly changing tech sector.
Learn more: Top 10 Richest Heirs in The World Today
8. Shunsaku Sagami
The Japanese businessman Shunsaku Sagami, 33, has a net worth of $1.9 billion and has had a big influence on the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) brokerage sector. Sagami is the founder and CEO of M&A Research Institute, a Tokyo-based company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) for M&A advisory services. The company specializes in helping small and mid-sized businesses, especially those looking to acquire because their owners are getting older and have no heirs.
By instituting a fee structure that only applies to the seller after the deal closes successfully and eliminates upfront costs, the company upended the market. Following his graduation from Kobe University, Sagami worked in advertising before starting and selling an IT company. In 2018, he established the M&A Research Institute. His accomplishments highlight the significance of strategic business acumen and the international nature of financial markets.
9. Joe Lau
Joe Lau, a 34-year-old man with a $1.5 billion net worth, is well-known in the US for his blockchain technology advancements. As a co-founder of Alchemy, which was founded in 2020, Lau has contributed significantly to the software that powers multiple Web3 businesses that are based on blockchain. In February 2022, Alchemy received a $10.2 billion private valuation, with Lau estimated to own a 26% stake.
Alchemy Ventures was established in December 2021 with the goal of investing in current clients in order to bootstrap the industry. Both Stanford grads Lau and co-founder Nikil Viswanathan first found success with the meetup app Down to Lunch, which briefly topped the Apple Store charts.
10. Taylor Swift
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| Taylor Swift - Youngest Self-Made Billionaires in the World |
Taylor Swift is the only artist on this list at the age of 34, with a net worth of $1.1 billion. Swift became a billionaire in October 2023, and her wealth is largely due to the success of her Eras tour and her music library. Based only on her songs and performances, Swift—the first musician on this list—stands out for her achievements.
Swift's enormous wealth, which includes over $500 million from touring and royalties, a $500 million music catalog, and $125 million in real estate, is proof of her unmatched success in the music business. Her presence serves as a reminder of the many routes one can take to become a self-made billionaire.
