Meet the World's Youngest Billionaires: How They Built or Inherited Their Fortunes

The youngest billionaire club reveals a fascinating mix of inherited legacies and entrepreneurial ambition. According to Forbes Middle East’s 2025 list, the world’s youngest billionaires span industries from AI and pharmaceuticals to eyewear and online gaming. Some took over family empires worth billions, while others bootstrapped their way to nine-figure valuations before turning 30. Understanding how these youngest billionaires accumulated their wealth offers insights into modern wealth creation across generations.

What’s particularly striking is how diverse the paths to extreme wealth can be at such a young age. While three of the five youngest billionaires inherited their fortunes through family businesses, two are self-made entrepreneurs who disrupted established industries with innovative thinking.

The Inheritance Generation: Family Empires at Youth

Lívia Voigt de Assis - Brazil’s Industrial Dynasty Heir

At just 20 years old, Lívia Voigt de Assis holds a net worth of $1.2 billion, making her among the world’s youngest billionaires. Her wealth stems from a 3.1% stake in WEG Industries, a multinational manufacturing powerhouse co-founded by her grandfather Werner Ricardo Voigt. The company specializes in electric motors, automation systems, and energy technology, and trades on Brazil’s stock exchange as one of the country’s most valuable industrial firms.

Unlike many family heirs, Voigt de Assis doesn’t actively manage the business. Instead, her wealth is secured through a combination of family trusts and stock ownership arrangements passed down through generations. Along with her sister—who holds an identical 3.1% stake—she represents the next generation of one of Brazil’s most influential manufacturing dynasties.

Clemente Del Vecchio - Italian Eyewear Heir

Clemente Del Vecchio became the youngest billionaire in the group at age 20, with a net worth of $6.6 billion. His wealth traces back to his father Leonardo Del Vecchio, the legendary founder of Luxottica, the eyewear empire behind iconic brands like Ray-Ban and Oakley. When his father passed away in 2022, the then-18-year-old Del Vecchio inherited a 12.5% stake in Delfin, the family’s primary holding company, which controls substantial shares in EssilorLuxottica alongside insurance and banking investments.

Like Voigt de Assis, Del Vecchio holds no executive position at present, instead benefiting from a professionally structured family trust. His older half-brothers Luca and Leonardo Maria also joined the billionaire ranks through comparable inheritances from the same estate.

Johannes von Baumbach - Germany’s Pharmaceutical Fortune

Johannes von Baumbach, just 19 years old, represents the youngest known heir to Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim pharmaceutical fortune. His net worth of $5.4 billion reflects his stake in one of Germany’s largest family-owned pharmaceutical enterprises, recognized globally for innovations in both human and veterinary medicine.

The family maintains an intentionally low profile, with limited public information about von Baumbach’s role in the company. Leadership remains with his uncle, Hubertus von Baumbach. Outside of business, von Baumbach is known to be a competitive skier based in Austria. His status as youngest billionaire in this generation demonstrates how pharmaceutical legacies can transfer enormous wealth to the next generation while bypassing active management roles.

The Self-Made Titans: Youngest Billionaires Building from Scratch

Alexandr Wang - AI Pioneer and Self-Made Billionaire

At 28, Alexandr Wang stands as the world’s youngest self-made billionaire and co-founder of Scale AI. Unlike the inherited fortunes above, Wang’s $2 billion net worth stems from building a company that disrupted the AI industry. Scale AI specializes in data labeling for training AI models and supporting autonomous vehicle development—a critical function in the AI revolution.

Wang’s path diverged from conventional wisdom: he dropped out of MIT as a freshman and launched Scale in 2016 alongside co-founder Lucy Guo. The company has since attracted marquee clients including Meta, Microsoft, and General Motors. Scale AI recently raised $1 billion in funding at a $13.8 billion valuation. Wang’s estimated 14% ownership stake translates directly into his $2 billion net worth, positioning him as a major power player in the rapidly expanding AI sector.

Ed Craven - Online Gaming’s Self-Made Millennial Billionaire

Ed Craven, age 29, is an Australian self-made billionaire and co-founder of Stake.com, a rapidly scaling online casino platform specializing in cryptocurrency gambling. Working alongside partner Bijan Tehrani, Craven helped build the platform into a global operation generating $4.7 billion in annual revenue. His $2.8 billion net worth reflects his substantial ownership stake in this high-growth venture.

Stake.com achieved global prominence despite facing regulatory headwinds in major markets like the United States and United Kingdom. The platform gained traction through partnerships with livestreamers and social media influencers, capturing a reported 4% share of all global Bitcoin transactions. This extraordinary reach underscores both Craven’s innovative approach to platform growth and his ability to capitalize on the intersection of cryptocurrency adoption and digital entertainment trends.

The Youngest Billionaire Phenomenon: Inherited vs. Built

The emergence of the world’s youngest billionaires reflects two distinct paths to extreme wealth. Three inheritors—Voigt de Assis, Del Vecchio, and von Baumbach—secured their billionaire status through family enterprises spanning generations, requiring no active entrepreneurship. Their primary challenge involves stewarding and growing already-established empires.

Conversely, Wang and Craven represent a different breed of youngest billionaire: those who identified market gaps and built solutions from the ground up. Their successes emerged from technological disruption (AI data infrastructure) and market timing (crypto gaming adoption), rather than inherited corporate structures. Both achieved billionaire status before turning 30, demonstrating that the youngest billionaire club encompasses both legacy builders and innovation-driven entrepreneurs shaping their respective industries.