In this article, we’ll look at who the world’s youngest billionaires in 2024 are, from American entrepreneurs to children of wealthy European families.
Who are the youngest billionaires in the world? Reaching a net worth of $1 billion is the dream of many around the world, but some reach billionaire status at an extremely young age. In this article, we’ll analyze the life and success of the world’s youngest billionaires.
The world’s youngest billionaire will likely surprise many. It’s not at all common to have someone this young become a billionaire, especially considering he comes from Europe and not the USA.
So let’s see who the youngest billionaires in the world leading up to 2024 are.
How to define the youngest billionaire
One of the most notable examples of a young billionaire was Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, who became one at just 23 years old. Unlike many on this list, Zuckerberg achieved his enormous wealth all by himself instead of inheriting a fortune. Since then, however, Mark Zuckerberg has aged enough to stop being listed as the world’s youngest billionaire.
Indeed, how does one identify a young billionaire? Today, Mark Zuckerberg is 39 years of age, certainly not old at all. His net worth of over $117 billion makes Mark Zuckerberg one of the richest people on Earth, therefore he’s listed in much more “wealthy” lists than this one.
According to Forbes 400, there are only 7 other people richer than Mark Zuckerberg. The youngest are Larry Page and Sergey Brin, both aged 50, and the oldest is Warren Buffett, aged 93.
For the sake of this list, we will define a “young billionaire” as any individual under 35 years old worth over $1 billion. We will list the 10 youngest individuals on this list.
So this is the ranking of the youngest billionaires in the world.
10. Ryan Beslow
At age 28, Ryan Beslow is the first youngest billionaire in the world on this list. To be perfectly frank, Ryan Beslow is also the only one who actually “made” himself. All the others inherited their fortune from their parents, while Beslow is an American entrepreneur who co-founded several successful start-ups.
Among others, Beslow co-founded Bolt Financial Inc., a revolutionary check-out company, and Love, a crypto pharmaceutical start-up.
Overall, Ryan Beslow’s net worth amounts to $1.1 billion.
9. Katharina Andresen
Together with her younger sister, Katharina Andresen is one of the richest women in Europe with a net worth of $1.5 billion. She is also one of the youngest billionaires in the world at age 27.
Katharina and her sister inherited an 84% stake in Ferd, their father’s investment company. Ferd is a Norwegian holding company with capital invested mainly in industry, finance, and real estate.
Despite this generous inheritance, it’s their father, Johan, who mostly controls the company. In particular, Johan detains 70% of the voting power on the board.
8. Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio
The first of many Del Vecchio family members on this list. At age 27, Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio has a net worth of $3.5 billion. He inherited this fortune when his father, Leonardo Del Vecchio, died in 2022.
Leonardo Del Vecchio was the founder and chairman of ExilorLuxottica, the world’s largest producer of glasses and frames. At the time of death, Leonardo Del Vecchio was one of the richest people in Italy and the 54th in the world. His net worth was estimated at $24.1 billion.
Leonardo Del Vecchio’s fortune was split between his 6 children, including Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio.
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7. Wang Zelong
The only Chinese billionaire on this list, Wang Zelong inherited a $1.4 billion stake value in CNNC Hua Yuan Titanium Dioxide Co. This is a Shenzhen-based company specializing in the production of titanium dioxide. It’s traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange with a $17.65 billion total market capitalization.
Wang Zelong is only 26 years old, making her the youngest billionaire in China.
6. Alexandra Andresen
The younger sister of Katharina Andresen is Alexandra. She is also a billionaire with an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion. Alexandra Andresen is 1 year younger than Katharina at 26 years old.
Up until 2022, Alexandra Andresen was the second youngest billionaire in the world. The death of Leonardo Del Vecchio brought her down to “just” 6th place.
Alexandra has an esteemed career of her own as a horse equestrian. She won several awards in horse dressage competitions around the world.
5. Kim Jung-Min
Once again one of the heirs of a powerful and rich family, Kim Jung-Min is a Korean billionaire and older sister of Jung-Youn. Their father, Kim Jung-Ju, was the majority owner of Nexon and unfortunately passed away in February 2022 at just 54 years of age.
Jung-Ju split his fortune between his two daughters. Nexon is a videogame company based in Japan but founded in South Korea. Created in 1994, Nexon published several well-known games including MapleStory and Sudden Attack.
Kim Jung-Min is 21 years old and has a personal net worth of $1.7 billion.
4. Luca Del Vecchio
Luca is another one of Leonardo Del Vecchio’s 6 children. At the time of writing, Luca is 21 years old and has a personal net worth of $3.5 billion, the same as Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio.
Leonardo Del Vecchio’s children, including Luca Del Vecchio, inherited a 12.5% stake in the Delfin holding company each. Delfin is based in Luxembourg and controls the majority of Luxottica.
The control of Delfin, however, extends to other multi-national companies including Generali, Mediobanca, and Unicredit.
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3. Kevin David Lehmann
From Italy to Germany, Kevin David Lehmann is a 20-year-old billionaire who holds the majority stake in DM (Drogerie Markt). DM is one of the leading supermarket chains in Germany and the rest of Europe, with $14 billion in annual revenues.
Guenther David Lehmann, Kevin’s father, started investing in DM back in 1974, eventually obtaining half of the whole company. Curiously, no one in the David Lehmann family was particularly involved in the company guidance.
As of 2023, Kevin David Lehmann owns a net worth of $2.3 billion.
2. Kim Jong-Youn
The younger sister in the Kim family. Despite having a very similar name to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, the two could not be more different people. Kim Jong-Youn is a South Korean billionaire aged 19.
She became the second-youngest billionaire in the world when her father sadly passed away in 2022. Together with her sister Jong-Min, she owns a significant stake in the video game company Nexon.
With a 31% stake in the company (the same as her sister), Kim Jong-Youn’s net worth amounts to $1.7 billion.
1. Clemente Del Vecchio
Finally, the youngest billionaire in the world is Clemente Del Vecchio at just 19 years of age. This Italian boy is, once again, the son of Leonardo Del Vecchio, the former Luxottica CEO who died in 2022.
Clemente Del Vecchio has a personal net worth of $3.5 billion, the same as his brothers and sisters. His fortune comes from a 12.5% stake in Delfin, the company’s own holding company.
According to some internal rumors, Clemente is expected to eventually take the lead of Luxottica, although at the moment he plans to attend college and finish his studies in science and technology.
