The youngest billionaires in the world are worth billions, despite being under 30 years old. This year’s list of world billionaires includes four Stanford University dropouts, two food delivery magnates, and a cryptocurrency whiz. Together, these individuals make up a rarified group worth 0.5% of the global economy.
For the second year in a row, 19-year-old Kevin David Lehmann clinched the title of the world’s youngest billionaire. He inherited a 50% stake in the German drugstore chain DM from his father, who was an early investor in the business. However, neither Lehmann nor his father is involved in its daily operations.
Four billionaires under 30 years old, all self-made, have made it to the list this year. The richest among them is Gary Wang, age 28, the co-founder, and chief technology officer of a cryptocurrency exchange based in the Bahamas.
Joining Wang is 27-year-old Ryan Breslow, worth an estimated $2 billion, who dropped out of Stanford to build a lightning-fast payment software company called Bolt before stepping down as CEO earlier this year.
Rounding out the new entrants are fellow Stanford dropouts Pedro Franceschi and Henrique Dubograss. They vaulted into the billionaire ranks when their corporate credit card startup, REX, hit a $12.3 billion valuation in January. The Brazilian-born founders, aged 25 and 26, respectively, are now worth an estimated $1.1 billion each.
Stanley Tang and Andy Fang founded DoorDash in 2013. Their stakes were each valued at over $2 billion when the company went public in 2020, and while their stock has dropped off since then, the two are still worth an estimated $1.2 billion and $1.1 billion, respectively.
Austin Russell, who became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire when his automotive sensor firm, Luminar Technologies, went public, has also seen his fortune slide. Now 27 years old, Russell’s net worth is down one-third to $1.6 billion.
It’s been a mixed year overall for this elite cohort. While there are two more billionaires under 30 this year than in 2021, this group is collectively worth $3.7 billion less than last year’s group, due in large part to choppy equity markets and Sam Bankman Freed’s graduation from the under-30 ranks after turning 30 in March.
Benkman Fried, co-founder, and CEO of FTX alongside Gary Wang, was the richest among the under-30 billionaires last year. But he turned 30 in March, ending his run on the list. Despite this, the group of young billionaires continues to be a fascinating area to watch for the years to come.
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