The $1.1 Billion Secret: Meet The World's Youngest Billionaires Of 2024 (And The Self-Made Prodigy)

The global billionaire landscape is rapidly changing, with younger individuals staking their claim on massive fortunes. As of late 2024, the title of the world's absolute youngest billionaire belongs to a 19-year-old Brazilian heiress, a stark reminder that the path to a billion-dollar net worth often involves a significant head start. However, the list also features remarkable self-made entrepreneurs, proving that innovation and a disruptive vision can still mint fortunes before age 30. This article dives deep into the lives, companies, and staggering net worths of the world's newest and youngest financial elite, based on the most current data from the latest Forbes rankings.

The distinction between inherited wealth and self-made success is critical when examining this exclusive list. While the absolute youngest billionaires inherited their fortunes, the youngest self-made mogul built his multi-billion-dollar empire from the ground up in the hyper-competitive world of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Their stories offer a fascinating look into the modern mechanisms of wealth creation, from traditional industrial powerhouses to cutting-edge technology startups.

The World's Absolute Youngest Billionaire: Livia Voigt (19)

The current titleholder for the world's youngest billionaire is a non-self-made heiress from Brazil. Her story highlights the enduring power of generational wealth in the global economy, connecting her fortune to a massive industrial machinery empire.

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Livia Voigt Biography and Profile

• Full Name: Livia Voigt
• Age (as of 2024): 19 years old
• Citizenship: Brazil
• Net Worth (Estimated): $1.1 Billion
• Source of Wealth: Inherited Stake in WEG S.A. (Industrial Machinery) [cite: 5, 15 in step 2]
• Education: Currently attending university [cite: 11 in step 2]
• Current Role: Minority Shareholder/Heiress

Livia Voigt officially claimed the coveted title in 2024, becoming one of only two teenagers on the global list of billionaires. [cite: 7 in step 2] She is younger than her Italian counterpart, Clemente Del Vecchio, by just a couple of months. [cite: 13 in step 2]

Her $1.1 billion fortune is derived from a minority stake in WEG S.A., one of the largest manufacturers of electric motors, industrial machinery, and energy solutions globally. [cite: 5 in step 2] The company was co-founded by her late grandfather, Werner Ricardo Voigt. Livia, who reportedly still attends university, is one of 18 heirs to the WEG fortune, each holding a 3.1% stake in the company. [cite: 15 in step 2]

The WEG industrial machinery giant, based in Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil, operates across five continents and is a key player in the global electric equipment market. Her wealth is a classic example of inherited capital, where the immense growth of a legacy business has translated into multi-billion-dollar valuations for its heirs.

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The Top 5 Youngest Billionaires of 2024 (Inherited & Self-Made)

While Livia Voigt holds the absolute number one spot, the list of the world's youngest billionaires features a diverse group of individuals from different industries and continents. This list highlights the top young wealth accumulators, both inherited and self-made, who are under the age of 30.

1. Livia Voigt (19)

• Net Worth: $1.1 Billion [cite: 5 in step 2]
• Source: Industrial Machinery (WEG S.A.)
• Country: Brazil
• Status: Inherited

2. Clemente Del Vecchio (19/20)

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• Net Worth: $4.7 Billion (Varies by source, up to $7.55B) [cite: 2, 14 in step 2]
• Source: Eyewear (EssilorLuxottica) [cite: 3 in step 2]
• Country: Italy
• Status: Inherited

Clemente Del Vecchio, the son of the late Leonardo Del Vecchio, inherited a massive stake in Delfin, the Luxembourg-based holding company that controls EssilorLuxottica, the world's largest eyewear company and the parent of brands like Ray-Ban and Oakley. [cite: 3, 10 in step 2] His fortune is significantly larger than Livia's, but he is slightly older, placing him second on the age-based list.

3. Kim Jung-youn (20)

• Net Worth: $1.4 Billion (Estimated)
• Source: Online Gaming (Nexon)
• Country: South Korea
• Status: Inherited

Kim Jung-youn, along with her older sister, inherited stakes in the South Korean online gaming giant Nexon after the passing of their father, Kim Jung-ju. Nexon is a major player in the global video game industry, providing a vast fortune for its young heiress.

4. Kevin David Lehmann (22)

• Net Worth: $3.3 Billion (Estimated)
• Source: Drugstore Retail (dm-drogerie markt)
• Country: Germany
• Status: Inherited

Kevin David Lehmann inherited a 50% stake in Germany’s leading drugstore chain, dm-drogerie markt, when he was just 14. Due to legal restrictions, his fortune was placed in a trust until he turned 18. He is now one of the richest people in Germany.

5. Alexandr Wang (28)

• Net Worth: $2.0 Billion (Estimated)
• Source: Artificial Intelligence (Scale AI)
• Country: United States
• Status: Self-Made

The Youngest Self-Made Billionaire: Alexandr Wang and the AI Revolution

The true inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs lies in the self-made category. In the 2024 rankings, the title of the world's youngest self-made billionaire goes to an American tech prodigy who made his fortune by betting big on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

Alexandr Wang: The AI and Tech Billionaire

Alexandr Wang is the co-founder and CEO of Scale AI, a company that provides the essential data labeling and training services needed to power the world's most sophisticated AI systems. His journey is a classic Silicon Valley success story.

Wang co-founded Scale AI in 2016 at the age of 19, just after dropping out of MIT, where he was studying computer science. [cite: 12 in step 2] The company’s core business is annotating raw data—such as images, videos, and LiDAR—to train machine learning models for clients ranging from self-driving car companies to the U.S. military. [cite: 12 in step 2]

The rapid growth of the AI sector in the mid-2020s propelled Scale AI's valuation and, consequently, Wang's net worth. His company has secured massive venture capital funding, solidifying its position as a critical infrastructure provider in the AI boom. As of the most recent data, Wang, at age 28, is a testament to the fact that groundbreaking technology and strategic business acumen can still lead to immense wealth in under a decade.

Key Takeaways: Inheritance vs. Innovation in Modern Wealth

Analyzing the profiles of the world's youngest billionaires reveals several crucial trends in modern wealth accumulation:

The Dominance of Inherited Wealth

The absolute youngest billionaires, Livia Voigt and Clemente Del Vecchio, are both heirs. Their fortunes are tied to established, capital-intensive legacy sectors: industrial machinery and global eyewear. This highlights the reality that while the media often focuses on self-made success, a significant portion of the world's ultra-high-net-worth individuals are beneficiaries of generational wealth planning and successful family businesses. The source of wealth for many young billionaires is not a new startup but a decades-old, dominant market player.

The Power of Disruptive Technology

The self-made list, led by Alexandr Wang, is dominated by tech, specifically AI, FinTech, and crypto-related ventures (though the crypto space has seen volatility). [cite: 9 in step 3] The youngest self-made billionaires, often drop-outs or recent university graduates, are creating value by solving complex, large-scale problems using software and scalable digital platforms. This group includes other notable young moguls like Evan Spiegel (Snapchat) and Ben Francis (Gymshark), who are still under 35. This trend underscores the fact that the fastest path to self-made billionaire status today is through a highly successful technology startup with significant venture capital backing.

Geographical Shifts in Billionaire Creation

While the United States and Europe still produce many of the world's richest, the youngest list shows a strong presence from emerging economic powers. Livia Voigt's Brazilian roots and the South Korean gaming heiress Kim Jung-youn demonstrate that massive wealth is now being generated and held across a more diverse global landscape. This shift provides a fascinating look at how different regional economies are creating and transferring wealth in the 21st century.