Luca Del Vecchio, Surya Midha, Alexandr Wang, Brendan Foody, Adarsh Hiremath: Meet the 15 billionaires who became rich before 30

A new generation of billionaires is reshaping the global wealth rankings, with AI startups, pharmaceuticals, luxury goods and inherited family empires producing extraordinary fortunes before their owners turn 30.

According to Forbes, 35 people under 30 appeared on its 2026 World’s Billionaires list, with a combined fortune of $92.4 billion as of March 1, 2026.

Twelve (12) were self-made.

Mercor's three founders are particularly notable because they became billionaires at 22, surpassing Mark Zuckerberg's age when he first reached billionaire status.

The biggest disruption has emerged from artificial intelligence (AI), which has created a new billionaire class

Surya Midha, Brendan Foody and Adarsh Hiremath, all 22, each have an estimated $2.2 billion fortune from Mercor, their AI recruiting company.

Forbes reported that Midha is the youngest self-made billionaire in the world, edging out his two cofounders by a matter of months.

Alexandr Wang, 29, remains another major AI success story.

His fortune was built through Scale AI, which Forbes valued at billions of dollars following Meta's acquisition of a 49% stake. Wang subsequently became Meta's chief AI officer.

Other young self-made billionaires include Cursor cofounders Aman Sanger and Michael Truell, as well as Lovable cofounder Fabian Hedin.

Here are the 15 richest, ranked by estimated net worth:

#1. Luca Del Vecchio — $6.8 billion, age 24

Luca Del Vecchio is one of the heirs to the Italian eyewear empire created by his late father, Leonardo Del Vecchio, founder of Luxottica. Luca inherited a 12.5% stake in Delfin, the family's Luxembourg-based holding company, which owns a major interest in EssilorLuxottica, the world's largest eyewear company and owner of brands including Ray-Ban and Persol. Luca is not known for holding an operational role at EssilorLuxottica. His fortune is therefore largely inherited rather than generated through entrepreneurship.

#2. Clemente Del Vecchio — $6.8 billion, age 21

Clemente Del Vecchio, the younger brother of Luca, inherited the same substantial family stake following the death of their father in 2022. At just 21, he is among the world's youngest billionaires and one of its richest people under 30. His estimated 12.5% interest in Delfin provides exposure not only to EssilorLuxottica but also to other major European investments held by the family. Clemente's wealth illustrates the enormous scale of the generational transfer of the Del Vecchio fortune.

#3. Maximilian von Baumbach — $6.6 billion, age 28

Maximilian von Baumbach is the eldest of four young siblings who inherited stakes in Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the world's largest privately held pharmaceutical companies. The German company was founded in 1885 and has remained under family ownership for generations.

Unlike publicly traded pharmaceutical fortunes, the family's wealth is tied to its private ownership structure. Maximilian's billionaire status comes principally from that inheritance. His position among the world's richest people under 30 demonstrates how private, multigenerational industrial and pharmaceutical businesses can create enormous family fortunes.

#4. Katharina von Baumbach — $6.6 billion, age 26

Katharina von Baumbach is the only woman among the four young von Baumbach heirs on Forbes' under-30 billionaire list. She inherited her fortune through the family's ownership of Boehringer Ingelheim, the German pharmaceutical giant founded in the 19th century.

The company remains privately controlled rather than being listed on a stock exchange, making the family's wealth unusual among major pharmaceutical fortunes. Katharina's billionaire status reflects her ownership stake in the family business rather than a personal startup or operating career.

#5. Franz von Baumbach — $6.6 billion, age 24

Franz von Baumbach is another member of the younger generation of the family that controls Boehringer Ingelheim. Founded in Ingelheim, Germany, in 1885, the pharmaceutical company has grown into a global healthcare business while remaining family-owned. Franz inherited his billionaire-level stake as part of the family's succession structure. His fortune underscores the continuing importance of private family enterprises in producing young billionaires: unlike the newest technology fortunes, his wealth was accumulated over more than a century before being transferred to his generation.

#6. Johannes von Baumbach — $6.6 billion, age 20

At only 20, Johannes von Baumbach is one of the world's youngest billionaires and the youngest member of the four-person von Baumbach sibling group. His fortune comes from the family's ownership of Boehringer Ingelheim, the German pharmaceutical company. The business has been led by family members for generations, with Johannes' uncle Hubertus von Baumbach serving as chairman. Beyond his inheritance, Johannes has reportedly pursued competitive skiing in Austria. His story highlights the extraordinary wealth transferred to the youngest generation of established European industrial families.

#7. Kevin David Lehmann — $4.9 billion, age 23

Kevin David Lehmann became a billionaire through Germany's dm-drogerie markt drugstore chain. His father transferred a 50% stake in the company to him in 2017, when Lehmann was only 14. The family's connection to dm dates to 1974, shortly after the retailer was founded in 1973. Today, dm is Germany's leading drugstore chain. Lehmann's fortune is a striking example of wealth being transferred unusually early: he became the nominal owner of a multibillion-dollar stake while still a teenager.

#8. Firoz Mistry — $3.1 billion, age 29

Firoz Mistry is an heir to the sprawling Tata business empire through the family's ownership of Tata Sons. He and his younger brother Zahan inherited 4.6% stakes in Tata Sons following their father Cyrus Mistry's death in a car accident in 2022. Tata Sons is the holding company behind a vast multinational group whose businesses span automobiles, technology, steel, consumer products and luxury goods. The Mistry family also controls the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, one of India's major construction and infrastructure conglomerates.

#9. Zahan Mistry — $3.1 billion, age 27

Zahan Mistry shares his brother Firoz's inheritance from the Tata conglomerate. Following their father's death, the brothers received stakes of about 4.6% each in Tata Sons. Their family also has deep roots in India's Shapoorji Pallonji Group, a construction and engineering empire dating back to the 19th century. Zahan's wealth therefore combines exposure to one of India's most recognizable corporate groups with the family's private business interests. The brothers are part of a younger generation expected to help manage the family's enormous corporate legacy.

#10. Alexandr Wang — $3.2 billion, age 29

Alexandr Wang represents a very different route to billionaire status. He founded Scale AI, a company that provides data and AI infrastructure used to train artificial-intelligence systems. Wang became the world's youngest self-made billionaire before being overtaken by Mercor's younger founders. In 2025, Meta agreed to acquire a 49% stake in Scale AI in a deal valuing the company at about $29 billion, while Wang became Meta's chief AI officer. His rise illustrates how rapidly AI has created immense paper wealth for young technology entrepreneurs.

#11. Alexandra Andresen — $2.5 billion, age 29

Norwegian billionaire Alexandra Andresen inherited her fortune from the family behind Ferd, an investment company with holdings in real estate, finance and private Nordic businesses. The family fortune originated in a cigarette business that her father sold in 2005 before shifting the family's focus toward investment. Andresen and her older sister are involved at the board level of Ferd. Outside business, she has a strong equestrian background and was a three-time Norwegian junior champion in dressage. She continues to own and operate a horse-breeding stable in Oslo.

#12. Remi Dassault — $2.4 billion, age 24

Remi Dassault belongs to France's powerful Dassault industrial dynasty. His great-grandfather, Marcel Dassault, began the family fortune by developing aircraft propellers during World War I before building the business that became Dassault Aviation.

Remi inherited major stakes after his father, Olivier Dassault, died in a helicopter crash in 2021. His holdings include an estimated 4.1% stake in Dassault Aviation and about 2.5% in software company Dassault Systèmes. The family also owns media, wine and aviation interests.

#13. Surya Midha — $2.2 billion, age 22

Surya Midha is one of the three founders of Mercor, an AI recruiting company that helps major technology companies and AI laboratories find specialized talent and train AI models.

Born in California to a family with roots in India, Midha became a national-level debate champion during high school. He founded Mercor in 2023 with Brendan Foody and Adarsh Hiremath. Private investors valued the company at $10 billion in 2025, making the three founders billionaires at 22. Midha is the youngest self-made billionaire on Forbes' 2026 list.

#14. Brendan Foody — $2.2 billion, age 22

Brendan Foody is the CEO and cofounder of Mercor, the AI recruiting startup he launched in 2023 with Surya Midha and Adarsh Hiremath.

The three founders met through their high-school debate networks and later became Thiel Fellows, a program supporting young entrepreneurs.

Foody attended Georgetown University but dropped out after launching Mercor. Before Mercor, he had already founded two startups focused on software development. The company's rapid rise and $10 billion private valuation turned Foody into one of the world's youngest self-made billionaires.

#15. Adarsh Hiremath — $2.2 billion, age 22

Adarsh Hiremath is Mercor's cofounder and chief technology officer, completing the trio of 22-year-old entrepreneurs who became the world's youngest self-made billionaires. Hiremath and Midha were high-school debate teammates before building Mercor with Foody in 2023.

The company uses AI to connect companies with specialized workers and help major AI laboratories train their models. Mercor's $10 billion valuation in 2025 gave each founder an estimated 22% stake and transformed a startup founded only two years earlier into a multibillion-dollar fortune.

What the list reveals

The ranking shows a sharp divide between inherited wealth and new technology fortunes.

Most of the top positions are occupied by heirs to century-old European and Asian business dynasties, while the self-made billionaires come overwhelmingly from artificial intelligence.