Youngest Billionaire Club: The Age of Inherited Legacies and Self-Made Fortunes

The billionaires’ club has always been exclusive, but a new generation is proving that extreme wealth isn’t reserved for seasoned entrepreneurs in their 50s and 60s. According to Forbes Middle East’s 2025 list, the youngest billionaires are reshaping this narrative—some through family inheritances spanning generations, others by disrupting entire industries before they can legally rent a car.

The Inheritance Phenomenon: Born Into Billions

The fastest path to billionaire status remains the one paved by previous generations. Three of the world’s youngest billionaires inherited their fortunes, each representing different sectors of global wealth.

At just 20 years old, Lívia Voigt de Assis sits atop a $1.2 billion industrial fortune without lifting a finger operationally. Her wealth derives from a 3.1% stake in WEG Industries, the Brazilian multinational co-founded by her grandfather Werner Ricardo Voigt. The company dominates the electric motors, automation systems and energy technology sectors, making it one of Brazil’s most valuable industrial enterprises. Through carefully structured family trusts and stock ownership, Voigt de Assis represents the next generation of one of South America’s most influential industrial dynasties—a position secured entirely through bloodline.

Italy’s Clemente Del Vecchio, also 20, joined the billionaire ranks even younger at age 18, immediately after his father Leonardo Del Vecchio’s death in 2022. The legendary founder of Luxottica bequeathed a sprawling empire encompassing Ray-Ban, Oakley and other iconic eyewear brands. Del Vecchio’s 12.5% stake in Delfin, the family holding company controlling major EssilorLuxottica shares plus banking and insurance investments, values his inheritance at $6.6 billion. Like his older half-brothers Luca and Leonardo Maria, he enjoys the fruits of a strategically organized family trust without executive responsibilities.

Germany’s youngest pharmaceutical heir, Johannes von Baumbach, age 19, commands a $5.4 billion fortune rooted in Boehringer Ingelheim, one of Europe’s pharmaceutical giants known for human and veterinary medicine innovations. With leadership handled by his uncle Hubertus von Baumbach, the 19-year-old maintains a low profile and pursues competitive skiing in Austria—a lifestyle made possible by generational wealth accumulated through pharmaceutical innovation.

The Self-Made Exception: Building From Zero

Not all youngest billionaires are passive beneficiaries. Two individuals have constructed their own fortunes in emerging sectors, though at different scales and timelines.

Alexandr Wang, at 28, holds the distinction of being the world’s youngest self-made billionaire. Having dropped out of MIT as a freshman, Wang co-founded Scale AI in 2016 with Lucy Guo, creating a company specializing in AI model training data and autonomous vehicle support. The company’s recent $1 billion funding round valued it at $13.8 billion, with Wang’s 14% ownership stake translating to $2 billion in personal wealth. Scale AI counts Meta, Microsoft and General Motors among its high-profile clientele, positioning Wang at the forefront of the AI revolution.

Ed Craven, 29, represents another self-made pathway through the crypto and online gaming sector. The Australian co-founder of Stake.com built the platform alongside partner Bijan Tehrani into a crypto gambling powerhouse generating $4.7 billion in annual revenue. Despite regulatory obstacles in the US and UK, Stake.com captured approximately 4% of all global Bitcoin transactions through strategic influencer partnerships and livestreamer marketing. Craven’s $2.8 billion fortune reflects both innovative market positioning and timing within the rapidly evolving digital economy.

The Billion-Dollar Question

The youngest billionaires reveal a paradox of modern wealth: inheritance remains the dominant path to extreme riches, yet emerging technologies and digital markets are enabling unprecedented self-made wealth at younger ages. While most 20-year-olds navigate college or entry-level careers, this generation’s youngest billionaires embody either centuries of family accumulation or frontier entrepreneurship—each representing radically different trajectories to the same exclusive destination.