BackMark Mateschitz, heir to the Red Bull fortune, has claimed the title of the wealthiest individual under 30, with a net worth of $34.7 billion. This position, however, is fleeting as he turns 31 next month. The Forbes 2023 World Billionaires List announced the news following his inheritance of a 49% stake in the energy drink company after his father's passing last October.
Dietrich Mateschitz, Mark's father, co-founded Red Bull in 1984. In 2022, the company's revenue skyrocketed by nearly 25% after selling 11.6 billion cans of its energy drink worldwide. This year's Forbes list comprises 15 billionaires aged 30 and under, with a combined net worth of $64 billion. Among these, eleven inherited their wealth, while four are self-made entrepreneurs.
Newly minted teenage billionaire Clemente Del Vecchio, 18, inherited a $3.5 billion fortune alongside his siblings from their father, the founder of Italy's Luxottica group. Meanwhile, Gustav Magnar Witzoe, 29, is the fourth richest individual on the list, boasting a net worth of $2.7 billion. Witzoe inherited nearly half of the Norwegian salmon farming company SalMar, although he is not actively involved in the business and instead focuses on tech start-up investments.
Kevin David Lehmann, 20, ranks fifth on the list with a $2.3 billion fortune. He inherited a 50% stake in chemist chain dm-drogerie from his father at the age of 14, although it remained in trusteeship until he turned 18. Newcomers to the list include South Korean sisters Kim Jung-min, 21, and Kim Jung-youn, 19, with a combined net worth of $1.7 billion, as well as Ben Francis, 30, founder of activewear company Gymshark, and Palmer Luckey, who sold his first start-up, VR headset maker Oculus, to Facebook.
Lastly, entrepreneur Ryan Breslow, 28, slid from fourth to last place on the list this year, with a net worth of $1.1 billion. Norwegian sisters Katharina and Alexandra Andresen, both 27, maintain their positions on the list with personal fortunes of $1.3 billion each. However, Gary Wang, who previously led the list in 2022 with a $5.9 billion net worth, experienced the most significant decline due to fraud charges in December.
According to the latest data from Forbes, there are currently 2,640 billionaires across the world with a combined net worth of $12.2 trillion - 28 billionaires fewer and $500 billion less than last year. France’s Bernard Arnault currently sits at the top position overall, while Elon Musk and Jezz Bezos slide down one spot each to round out the top 3 billionaires in the world.
