Pun Intended! But Yes You DO Need To Work Long Hours To Make Money!
It’s not a cakewalk to make yourself a prominent space in the world of fortune. And it’s definitely a big deal when the billionaire title bears the prefixes ‘youngest’ and ‘self-made’. It is because during the age when an average person in any part of the world would be figuring out what to study, where to apply for a job, start a family and save a few extra dollars than last month, these are the people who chose to create a legacy. The people who chose to inspire millions. It is often the road less taken because not everyone has the courage to pursue a path that may lead back to square one. Safety is an easy choice. It fastens the person to his comfort zone, rewarding back just enough to continue and not stop but never enough to leave behind a legacy.
These are the stories of the people who chose the unconventional paths and ended up being the sharks at a young age, all by themselves.
Here is the list of 10 Youngest Self-made Billionaires who reached extraordinary heights from a humble background proving that talent, hard work and consistency can result in exceptional results.
These people not only make it to our list of the youngest billionaires of the world, they also stand by DKODING’s “4 I theory” which defines the four parameters to judge a person’s proficiency — Ideology, Innovation, Influence and Impact.
DKODING Top 10 Youngest Self-Made Billionaires In The World
1/10
John Collison, Co-founder of Stripe
- Net Worth: $3.2 billion
- Age: 30 years
A Harvard dropout with an entrepreneurial inclination from the early stage, John Collison became the youngest self-made billionaire of the world at the age of 26 with a net worth of $1.1 billion in 2016. Along with his brother Patrick, Collison founded Stripe, an American fintech digital payments platform for e-commerce businesses and mobile applications, at the age of 19. During this time, he decided to drop out from the prestigious Harvard University to invest all his focus and time in his startup.
Collison always had a knack for entrepreneurship. Before even joining college, he and his brother had already started a software firm on eBay to help sellers manage the transactions. This made him a self-made millionaire before he entered Harvard.
Watch: John Collison ranked as the World’s Youngest Self-Made Billionaire in 2016
After Stripe was officially announced in 2011, the company went on to build a $5 billion valuation by 2015 and $9.2 billion in another year. Headquartered in San Francisco, Stripe has some big names registered as its customers including Lyft and Facebook and has almost 750 employees.
| John Collison | Biography |
|---|---|
| Full Name | John Collison |
| Occupation | Technology Entrepreneur Pilot Pianist Philanthropist |
| Education | Castletroy College Harvard University |
| Active Since | 2007 |
| Youngest Billionaire In | 2016 |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Companies | Shuppa (Co-founder) Auctomatic Stripe (Co-founder) Croma |
It’s easy to talk to people over the Web, but it’s not very easy to trigger transactions. That’s the thing we set out to fix with Stripe.
– John Collison — Famous Quote
2/10
Evan Spiegel, Cofounder and CEO of Snap Inc.
- Net Worth: $9 billion
- Age: 30 years
The thirty year old co-founder and CEO of Snap Inc, Evan Spiegel is the man behind the social media platform Snapchat with 229 million daily users. Spiegel, who is accredited to closely understanding the psychology and needs of millennials, decided to drop out of Stanford University to work full time on Snapchat with the other two batchmates and co-founders, Reggie Brown and Bobby Murphy.
The foundation of Snapchat dates back to 2011 when it was first proposed in a class project by Evan while he was studying Product designing at Stanford. Currently, Spiegel and Murphy jointly hold a third of Snap with maximum voting shares on the board.
Watch: The Fabulous life of Snapchat Co-founder Evan Spiegel
The biggest highlight of Evan’s success came in 2013 when Facebook tried to acquire the successful Snap Inc. for $3 billion and the shrewd entrepreneur turned it down. Later on, the tech behemoth Facebook went after Spiegel company by launching a similar app named Poke, which failed miserably.
| Evan Spiegel | Biography |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Evan Thomas Spiegel |
| Occupation | Technology Entrepreneur Businessman |
| Education | Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences Stanford University |
| Active Since | 2011 |
| Youngest Billionaire In | 2015 |
| Nationality | American French |
| Companies/ Associations | Snapchat (Co-founder) Berggruen Institute’s 21st Century Council (Member) |
We would experiment and fail. We must have attempted nearly 34 projects.
– Evan Spiegel’s Famous Quote on Snapchat’s early struggles.
3/10
Mark Zuckerberg, Co-founder and CEO of Facebook Inc.
- Net Worth: $102 billion
- Age: 36 years
This name needs no introduction, the tech pioneer and philanthropist Mark Zuckerberg can often be spotted in headlines, sometimes for his top-notch business moves but most of the time for controversy. Zuckerberg started the social media platform in the year 2004 from his dorm room in Harvard at the age of 19 and is today the most notable and one of the youngest self-made billionaires in the world. Originally developed to arrange the name of his batchmates at Harvard with their pictures, Facebook went on to become the biggest communication platform for people all over the world in less than a decade.
Like many of the youngest successful self-made billionaires and entrepreneurs, Zuckerberg too dropped out from Harvard once he realized the potential of the social media platform and decided to give it all his time.
Watch: Mark Zuckerberg opens up about the early mistake in his younger days
In its initial years of expansion, the venture caught the eye of Yahoo and was offered $1 billion for acquisition. Zuckerberg was far-sighted enough to turn down the offer. Almost a year later, Microsoft acquired 1.6 percent share in Facebook for $240 million. Currently, the company’s market valuation is at $82.2 billion.
| Mark Zuckerberg | Biography |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Mark Elliot Zuckerberg |
| Occupation | Media Magnate Internet Entrepreneur Philanthropist |
| Education | Ardsley High School Phillips Exeter Academy Harvard University |
| Active Since | 2004 |
| Youngest Billionaire In | 2007 |
| Nationality | American |
| Companies | Facebook (Co-founder & CEO) Wirehog (Co-founder) Internet.org (Founder) Breakthrough Starshot (Co-founder) |
I started the site when I was 19. I didn’t know much about business back then.
– Mark Zuckerberg’s Famous Quote on his early experience with Facebook
4/10
Pavel Durov, Founder of VK and Telegram Messenger
- Net Worth: $3.4 billion
- Age: 36 years
Popularly known as Russia’s Zuckerberg, Pavel Durov is the creator of the country’s biggest social media platform, Vkontakte. Durov was just 22 when he founded VK and in 2015, he sold 12% of his stakes in the company for $300 million. In the year 2013, he decided to form another billion dollar messaging platform, Telegram which now has 300 million users globally. The tech geek has no plans of settling down and has now raised $1.7 billion from investors to create a blockchain technology for Telegram called TON.
The Russian entrepreneur is famous for his quirks and strong stand for his beliefs. Durov always dresses up in all-black outfit similar to the character Neo of Matrix and has been an expert at coding since his early days in school.
In 2012, Pavel and his employees threw paper planes worth 1000 euros on the crowd under his office.
Watch: Pavel Durov throws Paper Planes made of currency notes from his Office
A year before that, he was pressured by the Russian government to provide the data of VK users carrying out an antigovernmental protest. Durov responded by sharing a picture of a dog with his tongue sticking out in a blue hoodie. His message was that he won’t go by the wish of the government.
Gradually, VKontakte had to face consequences as an investor close to one of the government authorities withdrew. But Durov still chose not to submit and shared a picture on Instagram showing his middle finger to the investor. In a series of consequences that he had to face after his rebellious moves, Pavel secretly flew to New York and started Telegram, an encrypted chat app that won’t let the government spy on users. Despite low revenues, the incredible entrepreneur keeps Telegram running at his own expense.
| Pavel Durov | Biography |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Pavel Valerievich Durov |
| Occupation | Internet Entrepreneur |
| Education | Academy Gymnasium Saint Petersburg State University |
| Active Since | 2006 |
| Youngest Billionaire In | 2011 |
| Nationality | Russian St. Kitts and Nevis |
| Companies | VKontakte (Co-founder) Telegram (Founder) |
Don’t be bound by the opinions of others. The majority is almost certainly wrong.
– Pavel Durov — Famous Quote
5/10
Dmitry Bukhman, Co-founder and Owner of Playrix Holdings Ltd.
- Net Worth: $3.1 billion
- Age: 35 years
The Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Bukhman earned significant recognition and fortune at a very young age through his online gaming venture Playrix. The company creates and provides free mobile gaming apps and earns more than $1.2 billion in annual revenue.
Passion for gaming and a head for business, Bukhman and his brother began early by selling games before he finished his high school. The biggest climax in the timeline of gaming giant Playrix came during the recent pandemic lockdown when it became world’s second largest mobile-game developer after Tencent Holdings Ltd. Dmitry and his brother Igor reported twofold increase in their wealth during the COVID-19 lockdown. Dreaming big from a small town? The Bukhman Brothers are the people who should inspire your journey.
| Dmitry Bukhman | Biography |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Dmitry Anatolyevich Bukhman |
| Occupation | Technology Entrepreneur Video Game Developer |
| Education | Vologda University |
| Active Since | 2000 |
| Youngest Billionaire In | 2019 |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Companies | Playrix (Co-founder) Nexters Global (Co-owner) |
We were raised to think that only losers don’t graduate from college. I didn’t even know there were people who don’t finish school by choice.
– Dmitry Bukhman — Famous Quote
6/10
Patrick Collison, Co-founder and CEO of Stripe
- Net Worth: 3.2 billion
- Age: 32 years
We previously mentioned John Collison on the list. The Collison brothers together founded the American fintech giant Stripe for internet businesses’ easy online payments. Some famous investors in the company include Peter Thiel and Elon Musk.
Patrick Collison, like his brother, is also a dropout from University of Limerick, MIT where he was learning computer programming. What makes Stripe a big success is the easy avenue for the small business and startups to execute digital payments and the company’s incentive structure. The company’s success is intertwined with the number of customers it has on board.
Watch: How to run your Company, with Stripe Collison
| Patrick Collison | Biography |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Patrick Collison |
| Occupation | Technology Entrepreneur Writer Philanthropist |
| Education | Castletroy College MIT |
| Active Since | 2007 |
| Youngest Billionaire In | 2016 |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Companies | Shuppa (Co-founder) Auctomatic Stripe (Co-founder) Croma |
One phrase we use at Stripe is – Most tech companies are building cars. Stripe is building roads.
– Patrick Collison — Famous Quote
7/10
Dustin Moskovitz, CEO and Co-founder of Asana; Co-founder of Facebook
- Net Worth: $17.1 billion
- Age: 36 years
Entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist, Dustin Moskovitz is one of the Co-founders of Facebook along with Mark Zuckerberg. He left the social media platform in the year 2008 but still holds 2% stakes in the company which makes up for most of his fortune.
Moskovitz is the co-founder and CEO of a workflow software company Asana and actively contributes for philanthropic causes. He has founded the Good Venture philanthropic foundation along with his wife and has donated millions for marriage equality and malaria eradication. Moskovitz surely stands tall among people world over who do bigger things and inspire the rest of us.
Watch: Dustin Moskovitz opens up on why he left Facebook
Like Zuckerberg, Dustin is also a Harvard dropout where he was studying economics before moving out to focus full time on the social media venture.
| Dustin Moskovitz | Biography |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Dustin Aaron Moskovitz |
| Occupation | Internet Entrepreneur Philanthropist |
| Education | Harvard University |
| Active Since | 2004 |
| Youngest Billionaire In | 2012 |
| Nationality | American |
| Companies | Facebook (Co-founder) Asana (Co-founder) Good Ventures (Co-founder) |
The only reason you should be an entrepreneur is because that’s the only way the idea will come into the world.
– Dustin Moskovitz — Famous Quote
8/10
Chris Wanstrath- Co-founder of Github
Net Worth- $2.1 billion
Chris Wanstrath is a University of Cincinnati dropout and cofounder of Github, an IT service management company providing hosting for software development and version control. He started Github in 2008 and a decade later in 2018, Microsoft acquired the company for $7.5 billion after which, Wanstrath became one of the youngest self-made billionaires in the world.
Watch: Github’s Chris Wanstrath on the future of Software
The two other co-founders were Tom Preston-Werner and PJ Hyett. Currently, Wanstrath is working with Microsoft as a Technical Fellow involved company’s strategic software initiatives.
| Chris Wanstrath | Biography |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Chris Wanstrath |
| Occupation | Technology Entrepreneur Software Developer |
| Education | University of Cincinnati |
| Active Since | 2008 |
| Youngest Billionaire In | 2018 |
| Nationality | American French |
| Companies | Github (Co-founder & ex-CEO) Microsoft (Technical Fellow) |
The big picture is — how do we make it easier for people to work together? What are new ways that we can get different people working together? That’s social coding.
– Chris Wanstrath — Famous Quote
9/10
Bobby Murphy, Cofounder and CTO of Snap Inc.
- Net Worth: $9.6 billion
- Age: 32 years
Bobby Murphy cofounded Snap Inc. along with Evan Spiegel and Reggie Brown. The three met at Stanford University where the idea of a social media app with disappearing snaps was sprouted. Murphy is also famous for his real estate investments in Venice Beach and Pacific Palisades which are worth millions of dollars.
Watch: Who is Snapchat’s Mysterious Co-founder Bobby Murphy?
Murphy was born and raised in Berkeley, California to parents who were state workers. Snap wasn’t the first venture of Murphy and Spiegel together. The two formed a startup called Future Freshman which helped schoolers to apply for college. The startup failed but this didn’t stop them from trying again.
In the process of promoting the newly built app, Murphy graduated and took a day job as an engineer at Revel Systems. He spent half of his paychecks from his job on the app’s server cost before they finally secured venture capital funding and Murphy became one of the youngest self-made billionaires in the world.
| Bobby Murphy | Biography |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Robert Cornelius Murphy |
| Occupation | Internet Entrepreneur Software Engineer |
| Education | The School of the Madeleine Saint Mary’s College High School Stanford University |
| Active Since | 2011 |
| Youngest Billionaire In | 2015 |
| Nationality | American |
| Companies | Snapchat (Co-founder & CTO) |
I always liked working on my own projects and hated job interviews.
– Bobby Murphy — Famous Quote
10/10
Nate Blecharczyk, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Airbnb
- Net Worth- $3.1 billion
- Age- 37 years
Nathan Blecharczyk co-founded Airbnb, a home rental and peer to peer company that operates in 100,000 cities in 191 countries and has 7 million listings throughout the world. The other two co-founders are Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky. One of the youngest self-made billionaires alive, he is also the chairman of Airbnb China. Before becoming the Chief Strategy Officer, Nathan played the roles overlooking engineering, data science and performance marketing for the team.
Certainly one among the few people who inspire the world, Blecharczyk is a Harvard graduate who began entrepreneurship right from his early age. One of the youngest self-made billionaire himself makes sure to use the products of his company- has stayed in hundreds of Airbnb homes and is also a host for his home in San Francisco.
Watch: Airbnb’s Nathan Blecharczyk gets Candid
| Nathan Blecharczyk | Biography |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Nathan “Nate” Blecharczyk |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Education | Boston Latin Academy Harvard University |
| Active Since | 2005 |
| Youngest Billionaire In | 2015 |
| Nationality | American |
| Companies | Airbnb (Co-founder & Chief Strategy Officer) |
I don’t feel like my life happens to me. I feel like I happen to my life. I feel that I’m in the driver’s seat.
– Nathan Blecharczyk — Famous Quote
