America’s 5 Youngest Billionaires Of 2020 | The Countdown| Forbes

Published 3 years ago
hqdefault

While most of America’s 400 richest people are old enough to collect Social Security — not that they need it — a dozen of them have yet to reach their fourth decade. Some of the youngest on the list inherited their wealth, like Lukas Walton, grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton. But most earned their billions starting tech or social media companies, including Snap cofounders Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy as well as Facebook’s Dustin Moskovitz and Mark Zuckerberg, who is the world’s richest person under age 40.

One of these millennials is Forbes 400 newcomer Trevor Milton, a 38-year-old college dropout who started hydrogen and electric-powered truck maker Nikola in 2015. The Utah native founded four companies before Nikola, including Hybrid Systems, a startup that designed fueling systems for natural gas trucks. He sold the business to metals manufacturer Worthington Industries in 2014 for $15.9 million, then used the proceeds to kickstart Nikola a year later.

Advertisement

In September 2019, Nikola secured a $250 million investment from Dutch conglomerate CNH Industrial, bringing its valuation to $3 billion and Milton’s net worth to just shy of $1.1 billion. In June, he took Nikola public via a reverse merger; its shares got off to a roaring start, nearly tripling in four days of trading. The stock has since fallen back to earth, falling by 68% by July 24, but Milton, Nikola’s largest shareholder, makes the Forbes 400 at $3.3 billion, a threefold jump in less than a year.

The number of those under 40 on the 2020 list has decreased by one from last year. Beer heir Julio Mario Santo Domino III fell from the ranks of the 400 richest Americans this year after the value of his stake in Anheuser-Busch dropped. Former Facebook president and Spotify backer Sean Parker turned 40 in December.

Forbes calculated net worths using stock prices from July 24, 2020.

Read the full profile on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hayleycuccinello/2020/09/08/12-under-40-here-are-the-youngest-billionaires-on-the-forbes-400-2020/#4bcf53b84d91

Advertisement

Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1

Stay Connected
Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Advertisement