10 Youngest Billionaires Of Our Time
Whether through building something themselves, inheriting money or taking over the family business, dozens of young people in the world have become billionaires. Here’s a look at how the 10 youngest got to where they are.
1. Mark Zuckerberg
Age: 31 (born 1984)
Country: USA
Net worth: $37.6 billion
Method: Self-made (co-founded Facebook)
Education: Attended Harvard University
As seen in the critically acclaimed film, “The Social Network,” Zuckerberg was the driving force behind developing Facebook, and he now serves as its CEO. Zuckerberg’s path to extreme wealth hasn’t been all smooth, however, as we saw in the movie and after Facebook’s disastrous 2012 IPO. But things have been looking up for the company, as the stock has risen nearly 200% since the IPO.
2. Dustin Moskovitz
Age: 31 (born 1984)
Country: USA
Net worth: $8.9 billion
Method: Self-made (co-founded Facebook)
Education: Attended Harvard University
Just eight days younger than his more famous Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, Moscovitz dropped out of Harvard to work on Facebook with his former roommate. Moskovitz left the social media giant in 2008 to launch software company Asana. He and his wife were the youngest couple to sign The Giving Pledge, which stipulates they will donate most of their wealth to philanthropic causes.
3. Scott Duncan
Age: 32 (born 1983)
Country: USA
Net worth: $5.4 billion
Method: Inheritance
Thanks to a one-year lapse in estate taxes, Duncan and his siblings inherited the fortune of their late father, a Texas oil pipeline tycoon, tax-free, making them billions richer than they would have been had the tax been in place.
4. Eduardo Saverin
Age: 33 (born 1982)
Country: Singapore
Net worth: $5.3 billion
Method: Self-made
Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University
Another of Facebook’s co-founders, Saverin and the company became embroiled in a lawsuit over the value of Saverin’s shares in the company and his role in its genesis. The two sides eventually reached an undisclosed settlement and Saverin was affirmed as a co-founder. In 2011, Saverin moved to Singapore and renounced his U.S. citizenship, a move many speculated was aimed at avoiding capital gains taxes resulting from Facebook’s IPO.
5. Yang Huiyan
Age: 33-34 (born 1981)
Country: China
Net worth: $5 billion
Method: Family
Education: Bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University
The wealthiest woman in China, she was given her father’s stake in real estate development company Country Garden before the company’s IPO in 2007. According to the company, she tagged along with her father to board meetings as a teenager, learning the business.
6. Albert von Thurn und Taxis
Age: 32 (born 1983)
Country: Germany
Net worth: $3.8 billion
Method: Inheritance
Making his first appearance on Forbes’ billionaires list at age 8, he officially inherited his family’s fortune in 2001, when he turned 18. His family’s wealth dates back to the 16th century when an ancestor was appointed hereditary postmaster general of the Holy Roman Empire.
7. Anton Kathrein
Age: 30
Country: Germany
Net worth: $1.51 billion
Method: Family
As the third generation to lead his family company, Kathrein-Werke AG, an antenna manufacturer, Kathrein became CEO at age 28 after the death of his father, Anton Kathrein Jr.
8. Evan Spiegel
Age: 25 (born 1990)
Country: USA
Net worth: $1.5 billion
Method: Self-made (co-founded Snapchat)
Education: Attended Stanford University
Raised by a pair of attorneys (including his mother, the youngest woman ever to graduate from Harvard Law School), he grew up in a wealthy home, living in a multimillion-dollar home in the Los Angeles area. Spiegel famously turned down an offer from Facebook to buy the company for at least $3 billion.
100 million
Daily active Snapchat users
9. Perenna Kei
Age: 24 (born 1990)
Country: Hong Kong
Net worth: $1.3 billion
Method: Inheritance
Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics and finance, University of London
Currently the world’s youngest billionaire, she obtained her title through inheriting family wealth via trusts and multiple companies. She became a citizen of Hong Kong in 2012, exempting her from Chinese income-reporting obligations.
10. Drew Houston
Age: 32 (born 1983)
Country: USA
Net worth: $1.23 billion
Method: Self-made
Education: Bachelor’s degree in computer science from MIT
The Dropbox co-founder started tinkering with computers at the age of 5 and started launching companies in high school. Before Dropbox, Houston was involved in several other startups, including Bit9, Accolade and Hubspot.
500 million
Files saved daily to Dropbox
