While many of us are still figuring out our career paths or paying off student loans, some exceptional individuals have not only carved out their niches but have also amassed fortunes before hitting 40. These young billionaires have not just made news for their wealth but also inspired many with their views and insights into business and life. Here's a look at five such prodigious figures and the words they’ve lived by to achieve extraordinary success.
Mark Zuckerberg
As the CEO and co-founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg became the world’s youngest billionaire at the youthful age of 23. His journey from a Harvard dorm room to leading one of the most influential tech giants is nothing short of remarkable. Zuckerberg’s vision for a more connected world is encapsulated in his quote, “The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” This philosophy appears to have clearly played a key role in his success.
Evan Spiegel
Evan Spiegel, the co-founder and CEO of Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, became a billionaire in his mid-20s in the year 2015. Known for revolutionizing how we communicate through ephemeral messaging, Spiegel once said, “There is real value in sharing moments that don't live forever.” This perspective on the impermanence of digital content has not only defined Snapchat's unique selling proposition but also highlights Spiegel’s deep understanding of the platform’s user base.
Markus Persson
Known in the gaming community as “Notch,” Markus Persson is the creator of Minecraft, a game that has become a global phenomenon. Persson became a billionaire, at age 35, in 2014 after selling his company, Mojang, to Microsoft. He once stated, “If you build a car, you can only sell it once. If you paint a fence, you only get paid for it once. If you create a piece of software that’s essentially free to reproduce, you can keep getting paid over and over perpetually.”
Bobby Murphy
Another Snap Inc. visionary, Bobby Murphy co-founded the company alongside Spiegel. Murphy became a billionaire shortly after Spiegel in 2015. He’s been quoted saying in context of Snap’s engineering team, “We also care a lot about thinking outside of conventions.” Murphy has played his role well of inspiring that team to function in unchartered territory.
John Collison
John Collison, who co-founded Stripe with his brother Patrick, became a billionaire at 26 in 2016. Stripe's technology powers payments for thousands of businesses worldwide. Collison once remarked, “One of the myths you see in entrepreneurship is that people have this dream one night, wake up the next morning, and start building it. It’s actually much more of an iterative process.”
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