- For the first time in 15 years, no self-made billionaires under the age of 30 are on Forbes’ World’s Youngest Billionaires 2024 list – the ‘great wealth transfer’ to the next generation has begun
- We’re truly in the era of the nepo baby: the youngest on the list is 19-year-old Livia Voigt, who’s still in college, while 7 out of 8 of the list’s richest inherited their wealth
Youth and wealth ... is there a better combination? Historically, there have been those blessed with billionaire status at a very young age, either through inheritance or self-made ventures. However, for the first time in 15 years, there are no self-made billionaires under the age of 30 on Forbes’ World’s Youngest Billionaires 2024 – a sign that the “great wealth transfer” to the next generation has begun, according to the magazine. In other words, we’re truly in the era of the nepo baby.
The world’s youngest billionaire is 19-year-old Livia Voigt, who is still in university. The Brazilian teenager is worth around US$1.1 billion as a result of her minority stake in the electrical equipment company WEG, co-founded by her late grandfather.
Advertisem*nt
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the youngest billionaire is 32-year-old Jonathan Kwok, who inherited stakes in Sun Hung Kai Properties and Empire Group Holdings after his father Walter Kwok’s death in 2018. Jonathan is now running Empire Group Holdings with his brother Geoffrey, 38.
Meet the top eight youngest billionaires in the world, according to Forbes at the time of writing, and find out how they accumulated their vast fortunes at such a young age.
8. Gustav Magnar Witzøe, 30 – US$4.2 billion
When he was only 19 years old, Norwegian Gustav Magnar Witzøe’s father gave him nearly half the family’s fish farming company SalMar – the world’s second largest salmon farmer exporting to over 50 countries – in a move to avoid a large tax inheritance bill, according to New Zealand Herald.
These days, Gustav works on tech start-up and property investments while his father continues to oversee SalMar. Gustav is also a red-carpet regular at A-list events like the Met Gala, and he also puts his good looks to work as a model for various brands and magazines.
7. Michal Strnad, 31 – US$4.5 billion
