Youngest self-made billionaire is just 28 years old and worth $3.6 billion

Alexandr Wang is the world’s youngest self-made billionaire, and at just 28-years-old, he’s got an estimated net worth of $3.6 billion.

A recent report by Forbes revealed there were 21 billionaires under the age of 30. 

Unsurprisingly, due to their relatively short working lives, all but two of them inherited their wealth. 

US-born Alexandr Wang was not in that majority. Instead, his $3.6 billion fortune was self-made.

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How did the world’s youngest self-made billionaire make his cash?

Most of us dreamed of growing up to be mega-rich when we were younger, but unfortunately that’s about as far as it got. 

Not so for Alexandr Wang, though, who became the youngest self-made billionaire aged just 24.

Wang was born in New Mexico in 1997 (anyone else feel old yet?) and grew up with a keen interest in computers and technology. 

By the time he was 17, Wang had landed himself a full time engineering job at Silicon Valley’s Addepar. 

At 19, he gave university a go – the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, no less.

But he later dropped out and launched Scale AI. 

Scale AI, which was recently valued at $13.8 billion, is an AI data annotation startup that allows companies to put their raw data into AI and machine learning for projects like autonomous driving. 

Scale AI’s client list is packed with household names including OpenAI, Etsy, and Pinterest, as well as plenty of automotive brands, like General Motors, Samsung, and Toyota. 

Scale AI was founded in 2016 and by 2021 was valued at $7 billion. 

Last month, it was reported that Meta had purchased a 49 percent stake in Scale AI for $14.8 billion. 

The sale leaves Wang, now 28, with an estimated 14 percent share of the company and gives him a net worth of $3.6 billion. 

He was also announced as Meta’s Chief AI Officer.

He’s the 1,085th richest person in the world, and the youngest self-made billionaire on the planet.

The second youngest self-made billionaire isn’t far behind

While Alexandr Wang claims the title for the youngest self-made billionaire in the world, he’s only a few months younger than the second. 

Australia’s Ed Craven, who co-founded Stake.com and the Kick streaming platform, is just 29.

He founded Stake along with Bijan Tehrani in 2016 and last year it had $4.7 billion in revenue.

As well as being a little younger than Wang, Forbes says Craven also has a slightly lower net worth of around $2.8 billion.

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