Clemente Del Vecchio became a billionaire at the age of 18.
The world's top richest people have toiled hard to create wealth. Some of them even used innovative ideas to come up with something extraordinary and became the wealthiest people in the world. But there are some young people who, driven by determination, resilience and the ability to seize opportunities, are building empires and shaping the future. Most of them are in their early twenties (and one a teenager) and have amassed billions of dollars, as revealed by Forbes in its latest list.
The list is based on Forbes' real-time billionaires list that ranks the top 10 youngest billionaires in the world and is based on asset data till January 30, 2024.
The wealthiest, and youngest, among the list is Clemente Del Vecchio, one of the six children of Leonardo Del Vecchio, the chairman of EssilorLuxottica who died in 2022. Clemente is just 19 but has a net worth of $4.1 billion.
After his father's death, he acquired 12.5 per cent ownership in the Luxembourg-based holding company Delfin, as per Forbes. Apart from EssilorLuxottica (which owns the brand Ray-Ban), the holding company has shares in insurer Generali, banks like Mediobanca and UniCredit, and real estate developer Convivio.
Clemente became a billionaire at the age of 18.
Next in the list is Kim Jung-youn, the online gaming queen. All of 20, she holds 31 per cent of NXC, the largest shareholder in the online gaming company Nexon. Majority of the shares have been passed down from her late father Kim Jung-ju, who founded Nexon in 1994 and died at the age of 54 in February 2022.
Germany-based Kevin David Lehmann is another young billionaire. He holds 50 per cent ownership stake in Germany's drugstore chain, dm (drogerie markt), with an annual revenue exceeding $14 billion.
According to Forbes, his personal net worth is $2.5 billion.
Jung-youn's sister Kim Jung-min is also among the top 10 billionaires in the world. The 22-year-old has a net worth of $1.7 billion.
Clemente's brother Luca Del Vecchio has also made it to the list. He holds 12.5 per cent stake in Delfin, the Luxembourg-based holding company of eyeglasses major EssilorLuxottica. Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio is the third member of the Veccio family who are among the youngest billionaires. He is actively engage in EssilorLuxottica's affairs, serving as the company's chief strategy officer.
Alexandra Andersen and her elder sister Katharina own 42 per cent stake in family-owned investment firm Ferd, becoming a billionaire in their 20s. While Alexandra is 27, Katharina is 28.
Ferd is involved in various financial endeavours, including running hedge funds, actively participating in the Nordic stock exchange as an investor, and engaging in private equity investments.
Ryan Breslow is a self-made young billionaire. The 29-year-old left Stanford in 2014 to launch payment start-up Bolt. By January 2022, he became the chairman of the company. Forbes estimates the company's current valuation is around $5 billion. In addition to his involvement with Bolt, Breslow ventured into the wellness sector by establishing Love in January 2022.
Gustav Magnar Witzoe from Norway is among the 10 youngest billionaires in the world. He made his fortune in fish farming and owns nearly 50 per cent of Salmar ASA, one of the world's major salmon producers.