It’s extremely rare to find a billionaire under the age of 30 anywhere in the world. Normally, a person in their twenties is just finishing their college degree, starting a new career, getting married, and living the American dream. At least that’s what I did. I struggled financially every month to pay my rent, utilities, and school loans. I definitely would not have made the young rich list.
If you are a young entrepreneur or making plans to become one in the future, you will want to take notes on the following young business woman and men who became billionaires in their twenties. Some inherited their businesses, and others started their own companies. Whatever situation you may find yourself in, lessons could be learned from all of them.
The 2014 Young Rich List
There are 1645 people in the world who are billionaires. Here are five who are under the age of 30 that made the young rich list.
1. Perenna Kei, Female Billionaire Under 30
Perenna Kei Female Billionaire Under 30
At age 24, Kei has a net worth of $1.3 billion. Although Chinese, she resides in Hong Kong. She is the world’s youngest billionaire under the age of 30. She acquired her wealth with Logan Property Holdings, a family business in which she has an 85% stake. A major real estate company, Logan is run by Kei’s father, Ji Haipeng, who is also the chairman and CEO. Kei serves as a non-executive director of the company, which is located in Shenzhen, China Shenzhen is a southern town that borders Hong Kong. She attended the University of London where she earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and finance.
The Mystery of Perenna Kei
There was a certain amount of mystery surrounding Kei. When Forbes announced her as the youngest billionaire, there were no photos of her submitted and very little was known about her. Although she goes by name Perenna Kei, she has gone by the name Ji Peili in the past. According to reports, since she is a citizen of Hong Kong, and Logan Properties is in her name, she doesn’t have to pay taxes on the profits the company brings in. However, if she were a Chinese citizen, she would have to pay taxes on company dividends. Therefore, most believe her father put the company in her name to avoid paying taxes. This practice is not illegal in China, but you have to wonder if she really is a billionaire. No matter, legally she is and Forbes considers her one. If you’re hoping to become a billionaire, this probably isn’t the best way to succeed.
2. Anton Kathrein, Jr., Family Business Empire
Anton Kathrein, Jr., Family Business Empire
At age 29, Kathrein is worth $1.35 billion. He inherited a family company that his grandfather founded in Germany in 1919. The company, Kathrein-Werke AG, manufactures antennas for automobiles, broadcast antennas for radio and television, multimedia transmission equipment, communication reception systems, and electronic parts for cell phones. The company, with over 6,800 employees, has 18 business sites around the world.
Unexpected Death
Kathrein’s father ran the company until 2012, before he died unexpectedly at the age of 62. It’s hard to imagine someone so young suddenly having to take over a company, but that’s what 28-year-old Kathrein, Jr. had to do when he lost his father. He continued running the massive company with confidence and proved to his board member and investors that he was capable of doing so.
3. Evan Spiegel, Youngest American Billionaire
Evan Spiegel, Youngest American Billionaire
At age 24, Spiegel is worth $1.5 billion and holds the title as the youngest billionaire in America. He is the founder and CEO of Snapchat, a photo-messaging app. Snapchat began as a project for a class he was taking at Stanford University, and as it continued to develop and became popular students, Spiegel realized his project could make him rich. It was launched in 2011 under the name Picaboo, and later became known as Snapchat. Snapchat is now worth $10 billion. It is one of the top ten apps in the Apple Itunes Store.
Young and Immature
Spiegel has shown being the youngest American billionaire can sometimes mean being the most immature. Emails he had sent to friends back in his college days were made public recently. The emails were extremely pornographic, condoning of illegal drugs, and very demeaning to women. Spiegel released a statement apologizing for his past behavior. In addition, in the message, he tried to assure the public that he is not that type of person anymore. I think he should have used this incident to prove to others, especially teenagers, that anything you send electronically doesn’t completely go away and can come back to haunt you. I hope that we all can learn from his mistake.
4. Dustin Moskovitz, Self-Made Billionaire
Dustin Moskovitz, Self-Made Billionaire
At age 29, Moskovitz is worth $6.8 billion. He earned his fortune by helping start the social network, Facebook. He attended Harvard but dropped out after two years to work with Facebook full-time. He worked with the first Chief Technology Office and later became the Vice President for Engineering
New Beginnings
In 2008, he left Facebook to start a software company called Asana. It’s designed to help teams work together more effectively. Moskovitz qualified for the 2014 Forbes 400, a list of the richest people in the world.
5. Mark Zuckerman, Richest Billionaire Under 30
Mark Zuckerman, Richest Billionaire Under 30
At age 29, Zuckerman is worth $34 billion. He attended Harvard where he was a roommate to Dustin Moskovitz. While there, he launched Facebook, along with his roommates.
Making his fortune by creating Facebook, he celebrated its tenth anniversary this year. He is the 11th richest person in America and the wealthiest under the age of 40. Not surprisingly, Zuckerman also made the 2014 Forbes 400 list.
Keep in Mind…
What lessons can be learned from these young entrepreneurs? Here are a few thoughts.
• If you become a billionaire in your twenties, be prepared to lose your public privacy.
All of our billionaires made headlines, but the most private one was Parenna Kei, the Chinese billionaire who had no photos to publish with her title.
• Be prepared for your past to be made public. Just like Evan Spiegel, your sins will find you.
So, the lesson is to not put any messages on photos on electronic devices that you wouldn’t want the whole world to eventually see. It can affect your business’ success, although it seemed to have no effect on Spiegel’s.
• Whether you inherit your billions or build a business that is fortunate to earn you billions, be prepared to work hard.
You will need to work hard to make your fortune, then you will need to work hard to keep it. For example, Anton Kathrein had to quickly take over the reins of running his family’s third generation business when his father unexpectedly died. Be prepared to prove those who think you can’t do it wrong.
Carl is the Author of Red Means Go! and founder of Business Builders Academy. He invests in and runs a number of businesses, and regularly teaches business skills through online training and live speaking events.
