Top 10 Youngest Billionaires Under 30 and How They Did It

Spiegel dropped out of Stanford three credits short of graduating, rejected Mark Zuckerberg's $3 billion cash offer for Snapchat in 2013, and took the company public in 2017 at a $24 billion valuation. He became a billionaire at 25 and the youngest billionaire CEO on a major exchange. He married Miranda Kerr, lives in a $120 million Bel Air estate, and Snap now has 800+ million monthly active users. The kid who said no to $3 billion from the guy who said no to $1 billion — it's turtles all the way down in Silicon Valley rejection economics.

Wang dropped out of MIT at 19 to co-found Scale AI, which provides data labeling for AI companies. When the AI boom exploded, Scale became essential infrastructure — used by OpenAI, Meta, and the U.S. Department of Defense. The company hit a $14 billion valuation in 2024, making Wang a billionaire at 25 and the youngest self-made billionaire in America at the time. He was born in Los Alamos, New Mexico to physicist parents. While other founders chase consumer apps, Wang built the picks-and-shovels business of the AI gold rush. The smartest boring company in Silicon Valley.

Forbes declared Jenner the youngest "self-made" billionaire in 2019 at age 21. Then Forbes revoked the title in 2020, accusing her team of inflating revenue figures. The Coty acquisition valued Kylie Cosmetics at $1.2 billion (she sold 51% for $600 million). Whether she was ever technically a billionaire is debated — but the $600 million exit before age 23 with a team of seven employees is indisputable. She built a beauty empire from Instagram lip kits that sold out in 30 seconds. The "self-made" debate will outlive us all, but the $600 million check already cleared.

SBF built FTX into the second-largest crypto exchange on Earth, hit a $32 billion valuation, and reached a personal net worth of $26 billion by age 29. Then it all collapsed in November 2022: FTX had been using customer deposits to fund risky bets through his hedge fund Alameda Research. $8 billion in customer funds vanished. He was arrested in the Bahamas, convicted of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy, and sentenced to 25 years in federal prison. The fastest rise and fall of any billionaire in history — from Forbes cover to prison jumpsuit in 12 months.

While Spiegel became the public face of Snapchat, his Stanford roommate Bobby Murphy quietly became a billionaire at the same age as CTO. Murphy built the core architecture that makes Snapchat's filters and Lens Studio work — the augmented reality technology that 250 million people use daily. His net worth sits at $4 billion. He gives almost no interviews, has minimal social media presence, and is one of the least-known tech billionaires on Earth. Murphy proves that in Silicon Valley, the richest person in the room is often the one nobody's heard of.

Russell dropped out of Stanford at 17 (he had a Thiel Fellowship — Peter Thiel pays you $100,000 to NOT go to college). He founded Luminar Technologies, which makes LiDAR sensors for self-driving cars. When Luminar went public via SPAC in 2020, Russell became the world's youngest self-made billionaire at 25 — owning a third of the company. The stock has since crashed 95%, and his net worth dropped from $2.4 billion to under $200 million. The fastest creation and evaporation of a Thiel Fellow's fortune in the program's history.

Luckey built the first Oculus Rift VR headset in his parents' garage at 18. Facebook acquired Oculus for $2 billion in 2014 — Luckey's share was an estimated $700 million. He was then fired from Facebook over political controversies. Most people would retire. Luckey founded Anduril Industries — a defense technology company now valued at $14 billion — making him a billionaire at roughly 30. He went from virtual reality for gamers to AI-powered military surveillance drones. The most unexpected career pivot of any young tech founder: gaming headsets to autonomous weapons.

Collison and his brother John dropped out of MIT and Harvard respectively to build Stripe — now valued at $65 billion and processing $1 trillion+ in annual payments. Patrick became a billionaire at 31 and Ireland's youngest self-made billionaire. They grew up in rural Tipperary (population 300) and taught themselves to code. Patrick won a young scientist competition in Ireland at 16 before leaving for MIT. Two brothers from a village smaller than most high schools now run the payment infrastructure behind Amazon, Google, and Shopify. The most understated origin story on this list.

Agarwal dropped out of college at 17, joined the Thiel Fellowship, and founded OYO Rooms — a budget hotel aggregator that expanded to 80+ countries with 157,000+ hotels. SoftBank invested $1.5 billion. The company peaked at a $10 billion valuation, making Agarwal a billionaire at 26 and the youngest Indian billionaire in history. COVID crushed travel and OYO's valuation crashed to $2.7 billion. His wealth dropped 75%. But OYO recovered, filed for IPO, and Agarwal — still under 30 — is rebuilding. The youngest Indian billionaire in history isn't done. He's just on his second act.

Spiegel dropped out of Stanford three credits short of graduating, rejected Mark Zuckerberg's $3 billion cash offer for Snapchat in 2013, and took the company public in 2017 at a $24 billion valuation. He became a billionaire at 25 and the youngest billionaire CEO on a major exchange. He married Miranda Kerr, lives in a $120 million Bel Air estate, and Snap now has 800+ million monthly active users. The kid who said no to $3 billion from the guy who said no to $1 billion — it's turtles all the way down in Silicon Valley rejection economics.

Wang dropped out of MIT at 19 to co-found Scale AI, which provides data labeling for AI companies. When the AI boom exploded, Scale became essential infrastructure — used by OpenAI, Meta, and the U.S. Department of Defense. The company hit a $14 billion valuation in 2024, making Wang a billionaire at 25 and the youngest self-made billionaire in America at the time. He was born in Los Alamos, New Mexico to physicist parents. While other founders chase consumer apps, Wang built the picks-and-shovels business of the AI gold rush. The smartest boring company in Silicon Valley.

Forbes declared Jenner the youngest "self-made" billionaire in 2019 at age 21. Then Forbes revoked the title in 2020, accusing her team of inflating revenue figures. The Coty acquisition valued Kylie Cosmetics at $1.2 billion (she sold 51% for $600 million). Whether she was ever technically a billionaire is debated — but the $600 million exit before age 23 with a team of seven employees is indisputable. She built a beauty empire from Instagram lip kits that sold out in 30 seconds. The "self-made" debate will outlive us all, but the $600 million check already cleared.

SBF built FTX into the second-largest crypto exchange on Earth, hit a $32 billion valuation, and reached a personal net worth of $26 billion by age 29. Then it all collapsed in November 2022: FTX had been using customer deposits to fund risky bets through his hedge fund Alameda Research. $8 billion in customer funds vanished. He was arrested in the Bahamas, convicted of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy, and sentenced to 25 years in federal prison. The fastest rise and fall of any billionaire in history — from Forbes cover to prison jumpsuit in 12 months.

While Spiegel became the public face of Snapchat, his Stanford roommate Bobby Murphy quietly became a billionaire at the same age as CTO. Murphy built the core architecture that makes Snapchat's filters and Lens Studio work — the augmented reality technology that 250 million people use daily. His net worth sits at $4 billion. He gives almost no interviews, has minimal social media presence, and is one of the least-known tech billionaires on Earth. Murphy proves that in Silicon Valley, the richest person in the room is often the one nobody's heard of.

Russell dropped out of Stanford at 17 (he had a Thiel Fellowship — Peter Thiel pays you $100,000 to NOT go to college). He founded Luminar Technologies, which makes LiDAR sensors for self-driving cars. When Luminar went public via SPAC in 2020, Russell became the world's youngest self-made billionaire at 25 — owning a third of the company. The stock has since crashed 95%, and his net worth dropped from $2.4 billion to under $200 million. The fastest creation and evaporation of a Thiel Fellow's fortune in the program's history.

Luckey built the first Oculus Rift VR headset in his parents' garage at 18. Facebook acquired Oculus for $2 billion in 2014 — Luckey's share was an estimated $700 million. He was then fired from Facebook over political controversies. Most people would retire. Luckey founded Anduril Industries — a defense technology company now valued at $14 billion — making him a billionaire at roughly 30. He went from virtual reality for gamers to AI-powered military surveillance drones. The most unexpected career pivot of any young tech founder: gaming headsets to autonomous weapons.

Collison and his brother John dropped out of MIT and Harvard respectively to build Stripe — now valued at $65 billion and processing $1 trillion+ in annual payments. Patrick became a billionaire at 31 and Ireland's youngest self-made billionaire. They grew up in rural Tipperary (population 300) and taught themselves to code. Patrick won a young scientist competition in Ireland at 16 before leaving for MIT. Two brothers from a village smaller than most high schools now run the payment infrastructure behind Amazon, Google, and Shopify. The most understated origin story on this list.

Agarwal dropped out of college at 17, joined the Thiel Fellowship, and founded OYO Rooms — a budget hotel aggregator that expanded to 80+ countries with 157,000+ hotels. SoftBank invested $1.5 billion. The company peaked at a $10 billion valuation, making Agarwal a billionaire at 26 and the youngest Indian billionaire in history. COVID crushed travel and OYO's valuation crashed to $2.7 billion. His wealth dropped 75%. But OYO recovered, filed for IPO, and Agarwal — still under 30 — is rebuilding. The youngest Indian billionaire in history isn't done. He's just on his second act.