Forbes Billionaires 2022: Teenage Billionaire Is Richer Than Kanye West, Jay-Z, Other Celebrities

A decade ago, being a billionaire was a rare occurrence, and achieving that level of wealth took decades.

Since the digital revolution, however, many individuals all across the world have done it in less than 30 years! There are now more young billionaires than ever before, thanks to family inheritances, family businesses, and technological start-ups, with the youngest in the world being just 21 years old!

How the World's Richest Teenagers Achieve Their Wealth?

This year, there are four billionaires under the age of 30 who are all self-made. Gary Wang, 28, the creator and chief technical officer of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange located in the Bahamas, is the wealthiest of them all. Sam Bankman-Fried, a co-founder and CEO of FTX, was the richest 20-something last year, with an estimated net worth of $8.7 billion.

Ryan Breslow, a 27-year-old Stanford dropout who built the lightning-fast payment software business Bolt before stepping down as CEO earlier this year, will join Wang. Breslow is worth an estimated $2 billion. Pedro Franceschi and Henrique Dubugras, both Stanford dropouts, round out the recruits. Their corporate credit card business Brex was valued at $12.3 billion in January, propelling them into the billionaire ranks. The 25-year-old and 26-year-old Brazilian entrepreneurs are now worth an estimated $1.5 billion each.

This year's list includes seven self-made billionaires under the age of 30, much outnumbering the five heirs to existing riches. This is owing to Stanley Tang and Andy Fang, both 29, who cofounded meal delivery startup DoorDash with Tony Xu (now 37) in 2013.

When the firm went public in 2020, their interests were worth over $2 billion, and while the stock has plummeted since then, the two are worth an estimated $1.2 and $1.1 billion, respectively.

Austin Russell, who made history as the world's youngest self-made billionaire when his car sensor company Luminar Technologies went public in December 2020, has also seen his fortune plummet. Russell's net worth has dropped by one-third to $1.6 billion at the age of 27.

Kevin David Lehmann, 19, is the world's youngest billionaire for the second year in a row, with an estimated net worth of $2.4 billion. The lone adolescent on the list received a 50% ownership in German pharmacy chain dm-drogerie markt from his father, who was an early investor in the company, although neither is active in its day-to-day operations.

Gustav Magnar Witzoe, 28, heir to one of the world's largest farmed salmon farms; Wang Zelong, 25, who inherited shares in two Chinese chemical firms; and Norwegian sisters Alexandra and Katharina Andresen, aged 25 and 26, respectively, all owe their ten-figure fortunes to their parents.

Here is the list of the 2022 World's Billionaires under the age of 30, from oldest to youngest, according to Forbes:

Andy Fang - 29 years old, $1.1 billion (net worth), DoorDash (source of wealth)
Stanley Tang - 29 years old, $1.2 billion (net worth), DoorDash (source of wealth)
Gustav Magnar Witzoe - 28 years old, $4.5 billion (net worth), Fish Farming (source of wealth)
Garry Wang - 29=8 years old, $5.9 billion (net worth), Cryptocurrency (source of wealth)
Ryan Breslow - 27 years old, $2 billion (net worth), E-commerce (source of wealth)
Austin Russell - 27 years old, $1.6 billion (net worth), Autonomous car tech (source of wealth)
Katharina Andresen - 26 years old, $1.3 billion (net worth), Investment firm (source of wealth)
Henrique Dubugras - 26 years old, $1.5 billion (net worth), Fintech (source of wealth)
Wang Zelong - 25 years old, $1.5 billion (net worth), Pigment production (source of wealth)
Pedro Franceschi - 25 years old, $1.5 billion (net worth), Fintech (source of wealth)
Alexandra Andresen - 25 years old, $1.3 billion (net worth), Investment firm (source of wealth)
Kevin David Lemann - 19 years old, $2.4 billion (net worth), Drugstores (source of wealth)

Music Trio of World's Super-Rich: Rihanna, JAY-Z, and Kanye West

Rihanna, the nice girl who went bad, has fared better than the majority. The 34-year-old pop diva, businesswoman, and expectant mother is now a fully paid-up member of Forbes' billionaire club, joining Jay-Z and Kanye West among the ultra-wealthy people, according to Forbes.

Thanks to her interest in the Fenty Beauty cosmetics brand and the Savage X Fenty lingerie line, Rihanna is claimed to be Barbados' first billionaire, worth $1.7 billion. RiRi is the world's richest female artist, coming in at No. 1,729 on the 36th annual list.

With a $1.4 billion portfolio that includes his Roc Nation company and factored in the 2021 sales of TIDAL to Square and Armand de Brignac champagne to LVMH, JAY-first Z's billionaire comes in at No. 2,076.

Thanks to his lucrative Yeezy collaboration with Adidas and long-term agreement with Gap, Kanye West comes in at No. 1,513 in the rankings, with an estimated net worth of $2 billion. In just one year, Ye has climbed more than 200 spots on the Forbes list, as per Billboard.

Kanye West Claims Forbes Underestimated His Fortune

Kanye West has aimed at Forbes, saying that the journal undervalued his riches in its most recent list of billionaires.

Kanye West's net worth has been reported to be $2.6 billion. The Donda hitmaker's team, on the other hand, has slammed the report, alleging that the amount does not reflect his true net worth.

Ye has estimated that his net worth is in the neighborhood of 7 billion dollars, according to the rapper, is attempting to manage and belittle him even at the risk of their credibility, Geo News reported.