10 billionaires under 30

There are currently, 21 billionaires under 30 around the world, according Forbes. Surprisingly, only two are self-made, while the rest inherited fortunes, mainly from Europe’s family-owned empires. Germany leads with heirs like Johannes von Baumbach, the world’s youngest billionaire at 19, valued at $5.4 billion from pharma giant Boehringer Ingelheim.

Italy follows with Francesco and Romolo Del Vecchio, heirs to eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica. Beyond Europe, billionaires include South Korea’s Kim Jung-youn and Brazil’s Pedro Franceschi. The few self-made standouts are Alexandr Wang, CEO of Scale AI, and Ed Craven, cofounder of crypto betting platform Stake.com. The ranking highlights how inheritance, not innovation, fuels most billionaire success stories under 30.

Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, 29, is an Italian billionaire with a net worth of $7.3 billion, primarily from the eyewear business. Following his father’s death in 2022, Leonardo, his six half-siblings, and his mother each inherited a 12.5 per cent stake in the family’s holding company, which owns nearly a third of EssilorLuxottica, the world’s largest eyewear manufacturer. He currently serves as Chief Strategy Officer of EssilorLuxottica and is also the president of the iconic brand Ray-Ban.

1.       Luca Del Vecchio, 23, also from Italy, has a net worth of $7.3 billion derived from the family’s eyewear empire. Alongside his brother and half-brother, Luca is among the wealthiest billionaires under 30. Their massive fortunes are primarily the result of inheriting shares in EssilorLuxottica.

Maximilian von Baumbach, 27, is a German billionaire with an estimated net worth of $5.8 billion from pharmaceuticals. His wealth comes from Germany’s historic drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim, founded in 1885. He is the eldest among four billionaire heirs under 30 who inherited fortunes from this company.

Katharina von Baumbach, 25, is also an heir to Boehringer Ingelheim’s fortune, with an estimated net worth of $5.8 billion. She is the only daughter among the three von Baumbach siblings listed and one of the youngest female billionaires in the pharmaceutical industry.

Franz von Baumbach, 23, is another heir to Boehringer Ingelheim, valued at $5.8 billion. He is the second-youngest billionaire in his family, but little is publicly known about his personal life or professional involvement in the company.

Firoz Mistry, 28, is an Ireland-based billionaire with a net worth of $3.7 billion. After his father’s death in a car accident, he and his brother inherited a 4.6 per cent stake in Mumbai-headquartered Tata Sons, one of India’s largest multinational conglomerates. With annual revenues of around $165 billion, Tata Sons owns about 30 companies spanning industries from automobiles to jewelry. The group now operates across six continents in over 100 countries.

Zahan Mistry, 26, is Firoz’s younger brother and also an heir to the Tata Sons fortune, with an estimated net worth of $3.7 billion. Along with his inherited stake in the conglomerate, Jehan is known to have diverse investments across multiple companies.

Alexandr Wang, 28, from the United States, is the youngest self-made billionaire in the world with a net worth of $3.6 billion. He cofounded Scale AI, an artificial intelligence company specializing in data annotation. In May this year, Scale AI raised $1 billion in funding, pushing its valuation to $13.8 billion. According to Forbes, Wang holds about 14 per cent of the company’s shares, cementing his place among the wealthiest entrepreneurs under 30.

Sophie Luise Fielmann, age 30, is a German billionaire worth $3.3 billion from the eyewear business. She and her elder brother Marc inherited a significant fortune from their late father, Günther Fielmann, who founded Fielmann AG in 1972 to make affordable eyeglasses available in Germany. While Marc has been actively managing the company since 2018 and fully took over leadership in 2019, Sophie owns one-third of the company’s shares but is not directly involved in its operations.

Ed Craven, 29, from Australia, has a net worth of $2.8 billion built from the online gambling industry. Alongside Bijan Tehrani, he cofounded Stake.com, one of the world’s largest crypto-based online casinos, which generated $4.7 billion in revenue last year. Despite restrictions on crypto gambling in markets like the United States, the UK, and parts of Europe, Stake gained huge popularity during the pandemic as livestreamers showcased their gambling sessions online. The company now claims that 2 per cent to 4 per cent of all global Bitcoin transactions occur via its platform.