How the world's 10 youngest billionaires made their fortunes
Joe Yates
Featured Image Credit: Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize
Becoming a billionaire in your 20s sounds like the kind of thing that only happens in movies, but for a small group of Gen Z... it's reality.
There are 35 people currently wandering around with a wallet that stretches 10 digits - each having reached the feat the majority of us will never experience - even if we lived 10 lifetimes back-to-back.
Some got there by riding the AI boom at exactly the right time, while others were born into family fortunes tied to everything from luxury eyewear to pharmaceuticals.
Now, let's all grimace at the fact we're not among the 10 youngest billionaires I'm about to name.
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At 23, Pedro Voigt Trejes is one of the oldest on this list, but still incredibly young by billionaire standards. His fortune comes from a stake in Brazilian industrial giant WEG (an acronym of the names of the founders), a business cofounded by his late grandfather that has become a major global player in electrical equipment and motors. According to Forbes, he is worth $1.1 billion.
Also 23 is Kevin David Lehmann, whose wealth comes from a major stake in Germany’s leading drugstore chain, dm-drogerie markt - yes, the lack of capital letters in the name irks me... anyway, despite being one of the youngest billionaires in Europe, he has kept an unusually low profile. Forbes puts his fortune at $4.9 billion.
Then come three 22-year-olds who represent the self-made side of the list. Adarsh Hiremath, Brendan Foody, and Surya Midha all cofounded AI recruiting startup Mercor, which has grown rapidly by helping major AI companies source talent and support model training - if you've been job-hunting recently, you're likely to have come across it.
Their rise proves just how quickly AI can create enormous fortunes, having only founded the company in 2023. Forbes values Adarsh Hiremath at $2.2 billion, Brendan Foody at $2.2 billion, and Surya Midha at $2.2 billion.
Hiremath was part of the founding team that helped launch the business into the spotlight, while Foody played a key role in building the company as it expanded fast. Midha, meanwhile, is the youngest self-made billionaire of the group.
Also 22 is Kim Jung-youn of South Korea, who inherited her wealth through gaming giant Nexon after the death of her father, founder Kim Jung-ju.
The company became one of the biggest names in online gaming and helped popularize the free-to-play model that transformed the industry. Forbes says she is worth $1.7 billion.
At 21, Clemente Del Vecchio has a fortune tied to family holding company Delfin, which owns a major stake in eyewear powerhouse EssilorLuxottica - the company behind some of the best-known glasses brands in the world, making him one of the wealthiest young heirs anywhere. Forbes values him at $6.8 billion.
Another 21-year-old, Lívia Voigt de Assis, also owes her billionaire status to WEG. Her place on the list means the Brazilian industrial business is responsible for more than one of the world’s youngest fortunes. According to Forbes, she is worth $1.4 billion.
At 20, Johannes von Baumbach inherited wealth connected to German pharmaceutical firm Boehringer Ingelheim, a family-controlled company that has been around for generations. Forbes puts his net worth at $6.6 billion.
And finally there is Amelie Voigt Trejes, also 20, who is currently the youngest billionaire in the world. Like Pedro and Lívia, her fortune comes from WEG. Forbes says she is worth $1.1 billion.
That rounds out the list. Now we've just got to sit back and wait for the interviews where each tell us peasants, grafting multiple jobs to make ends meet, that 'money doesn't buy happiness'. If that's the case, try spreading some of that wealth out!