(L-R): Gustav Magnar Witzoe, Ben Francis, Mark Mateschitz
Age is not a necessity to accumulate great wealth. Forbes’ youngster billionaires include Clemente Del Vecchio and Kim Jung-youn, neither of whom have hit their 20s yet. Following the passing of their fathers, Leonardo Del Vecchio and Kim Jung-ju, in 2022, both teenagers inherited stakes in their fathers’ respective companies.
As he approaches his 19th birthday this May, Delvecchio has amassed his wealth through shares in Delfin, his father’s holding company, which possesses a stake in Luxottica – a behemoth in the eyewear industry renowned for popular brands like Ray-Ban and Sunglass Hut.
Mark Mateschitz: $34.7 Billion
Mark Mateschitz is the only child of the late Austrian billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz. His father co-founded the energy drink firm Red Bull in 1987. Since October 2022, Mark Mateschitz stepped down from his role as Head of Organics at the $10 billion company to concentrate on his role as a shareholder.
Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio: $3.5 Billion
Age: 27 | Citizenship: Italy | Source of Wealth: Eyeglasses
Leonardo Maria, one of six children of Leonardo Del Vecchio, holds the position of Chief Strategy Officer at EssilorLuxottica. The world’s largest eyewear company. In addition to its stake in EssilorLuxottica, Delfin also possesses shares in prominent institutions like Generali, Mediobanca, UniCredit, and Covivio – spanning the insurance, banking, and real estate sectors.
Luca Del Vecchio: $3.5 Billion
Age: 21 | Citizenship: Italy | Source of Wealth: Eyeglasses
Clemente Del Vecchio: $3.5 Billion
Age: 18 | Citizenship: Italy | Source of Wealth: Eyeglasses
In 2022, following the inheritance of his stake in his father’s wealth, Clemente and his brother Luca earned the title of the world’s youngest billionaires at just 18 years old.
Gustav Magnar Witzoe: $2.7 Billion
Age: 29 | Citizenship: Norway | Source of Wealth: Fish Farming
In addition to his successful career as a fashion model, Gustav Magnar Witzoe also boasts ownership of nearly half of Salmar ASA, a prominent salmon producer globally. Salmar has revolutionized fish farming in Norway, spearheading the industrialization of the process and elevating the product into sophisticated cuts with greater margins.
Kevin David Lehmann: $2.3 Billion
Age: 20 | Citizenship: Germany | Source of Wealth: Drugstores
Kevin David Lehmann holds a 50% ownership stake in Germany’s top drugstore chain, which generates over $14 billion in annual revenue.
Michal Strnad: $2 Billion
Age: 30 | Citizenship: Czech Republic | Source of Wealth: Defense Contracting
Michal Strnad wears many hats, serving not only as the owner of PRIM, a renowned Czech watchmaker, but also as the CEO of Czechoslovak Group (CSG) – an industrial holding company responsible for producing an array of goods such as ammunition, specialized army trucks, army vehicles, and active radars, among other products.
Kim Jung-min: $1.7 Billion
Age: 21 | Citizenship: South Korea | Source of Wealth: Online Gaming
Jung-min and her younger sister, Jung-youn, each own about 31% of NXC, which is the largest shareholder in online gaming giant Nexon.
Kim Jung-youn: $1.7 Billion
Age: 19 | Citizenship: South Korea | Source of Wealth: Online Gaming
The sisters inherited the bulk of their stakes from their father Kim Jung-ju, who founded Nexon in 1994; he died in February 2022 at the age of 54.
Palmer Luckey: $1.7 Billion
Age: 30 | Citizenship: United States | Source of Wealth: Virtual reality, Self Made
Luckey grew up in Long Beach, California, where he was home-schooled by his mother and spent time working on cars with his father. He founded the virtual reality company Oculus VR in 2012 and sold the company to Facebook in 2014 for $2 billion in cash and stock.
Katharina Andresen: $1.5 Billion
Age: 27 | Citizenship: Norway | Source of Wealth: Investment
One of the world’s youngest billionaires. Katharina Andresen and her sister Alexandra, each inherited 42% of the family-owned investment company Ferd.
Alexandra Andresen: $1.5 Billion
Age: 26 | Citizenship: Norway | Source of Wealth: Investment
Ferd runs hedge funds, is an active investor on the Nordic stock exchange, and has private equity investments.
Wang Zelong: $1.4 Billion
Age: 26 | Citizenship: China | Source of Wealth: Chemicals
Wang Zelong’s wealth is derived from his stake in CNNC Hua Yuan Titanium Dioxide, a Chinese company that specializes in the production of titanium dioxide.
Ben Francis: $1.2 Billion
Age: 30 | Citizenship: United Kingdom | Source of Wealth: Gymshark
Ben Francis is the Founder and ambitious entrepreneur behind the leading UK fitness brand, Gymshark. Ben founded Gymshark when he was 19, while still a student at Aston University.
Ryan Breslow: $1.1 Billion
Age: 28 | Citizenship: United States | Source of Wealth: E-commerce software, Self Made
He is the co-founder and executive chairman of Bolt, a one-click checkout technology company. Breslow has raised $1.3 billion for Bolt, including $355 million in January 2022, which valued the company at $11 billion.
source: Forbes
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