While many Gen Zers struggle to land entry-level jobs due to AI, the same technology is powering a new wave of young billionaires. This year, the number of self-made billionaires under 30 reached an all-time high, as young entrepreneurs turned growing up with smartphones into billion-dollar startups.
By 2025, there will be more self-made billionaires in their 20s than ever before — about 13 more people than the previous record of 7 — according to an analysis by Forbes.
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And most of them have experienced a recent increase in wealth; Around 11 of the 13 new ultra-rich have become billionaires in the past three months, including names like Shayne Coplan, CEO of Polymarket, Fabian Hedin, co-founder of “vibe coding” startup Loveable, and AI entrepreneur Arvid Lunnemark.
Most of these ultra-rich young founders built their fortune by betting on the AI industry while it is booming. For example, 25-year-old Sualeh Asif found success as co-founder of Anysphere — the team behind the popular AI editing tool Cursor, valued at $29.3 billion.
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Adarsh Hiremath and Surya Midha, both just 22, co-founded Mercor: an AI-powered recruiting startup that helps connect talent to Silicon Valley’s biggest AI labs.
Of the 11 young entrepreneurs who became billionaires in recent months, eight saw their fortunes grow thanks to their AI innovations.
One of the 11 entrepreneurs who joined the billionaires club at the end of this year was Luana Lopes Lara: the youngest woman in the world to become a “self-made” billionaire.
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Earlier this month, Lopes Lara saw his fortune soar to $1.3 billion after his prediction marketplace startup, Kalshi, reached a staggering $11 billion valuation. But before debuting on Wall Street, the young entrepreneur followed a different life path.
The Brazilian was born and trained to be a professional dancer in Rio de Janeiro. After working nine months as a professional dancer in Austria, she abandoned her exhausting career and changed her dream: she wanted to be the next Steve Jobs.
While studying engineering at MIT, Lopes Lara spent his summers interning at Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Securities. But something changed when she accepted an internship at Five Rings Capital, alongside MIT colleague Tarek Mansour. During this internship, the duo came together on a shared vision to create a prediction marketplace company that would allow users to bet on the outcomes of popular sporting events, elections and current events.
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The entrepreneurs started the business together, and after a successful pitch at Y Combinator just a year later, the Kalshi platform was born. In 2020, after receiving approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), it became the first operating federally regulated prediction market platform. Earlier this month, Kalshi raised $1 billion, reaching a valuation of $11 billion and propelling Lopes Lara and Mansour — who each own about 12% of the company — into the exclusive club of billionaires.
“Self-made” billionaires under 30
- Alexandr Wang, 28 years old, USA
- Equity: US$3.2 billion
- Company: Scale AI (data labeling)
- Ed Craven, 29 years old, Australia
- Equity: US$ 2.8 billion
- Company: Stake.com (online casino)
- Surya Midha, 22 years old, USA
- Equity: US$ 2.2 billion
- Company: Mercor (AI-powered recruitment)
- Brendan Foody, 22 years old, USA
- Equity: US$ 2.2 billion
- Company: Mercor (AI-powered recruitment)
- Adarsh Hiremath, 22 years old, USA
- Equity: US$ 2.2 billion
- Company: Mercor (AI-powered recruitment)
- Fabian Hedin, 26 years old, Sweden
- Equity: US$ 1.6 billion
- Empresa: Lovable (“vibe coding”)
- Michael Truell, 25 years old, USA
- Equity: US$ 1.3 billion
- Company: Cursor (AI programming)
- Aman Sanger, 25 years old, USA
- Equity: US$ 1.3 billion
- Company: Cursor (AI programming)
- Sualeh Asif, 25 years old, Pakistan
- Equity: US$ 1.3 billion
- Company: Cursor (AI programming)
- Arvid Lunnemark, 26 years old, Sweden
- Equity: US$ 1.3 billion
- Company: Cursor (AI programming)
- Luana Lopes Lara, 29 years old, Brazil
- Equity: US$ 1.3 billion
- Company: Kalshi (prediction market)
- Tarek Mansour, 29 years old, USA
- Equity: US$ 1.3 billion
- Company: Kalshi (prediction market)
- Shayne Coplan, 27 years old, USA
- Assets: US$ 1 billion
- Company: Polymarket (prediction markets)
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