Livia Voigt, a 19-year-old Brazilian student, has become the world's youngest billionaire with a net worth of $1.1 billion, according to the 2024 Forbes Billionaires List. Voigt beat Clemente Del Vecchio, the heir to Ray-Ban producer EssilorLuxocttica, who is a mere two months older than her and has a net worth of $4.7 billion.
The 2024 World's Billionaires List is dominated by the youth, with the 25 youngest people being 33 or younger with a combined net worth of $110 billion. Some of them are self-made, having built notable companies like Snap, Gymshark and more, while others have inherited multi-billion fortunes, indicating that a "great wealth transfer" had begun.
Who is Livia Voigt?
Voigt is just 19 years old and is still in college, but has become the world's youngest billionaire thanks to her minority stake in the electrical equipment producer WEG, which was co-founded by her late grandfather. She and her older sister, Dora Voigt de Assis, 26, are two of seven fresh faces among the 25 youngest billionaires, and two of 18 heirs among this set, according to Forbes.
WEG claims to be one of the largest electric motor manufacturers in the world producing more than 21 million units annually. It provides global solutions for electric motors, variable frequency drives, soft starters, controls, panels, transformers, and generators. The company was founded by Werner Ricardo Voigt, and exports to 135 countries.
However, neither of the sisters have a role in the company's operations. Livia and Dora each own 3.1 per cent of WEG, slightly less than the 3.9 per cent stakes owned by their older cousins Eduardo and Mariana.
Indian billionaires
The full list of Forbes' list includes several Indian names, the most notable being Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani with a net worth of $110 billion in the top 10. Gautam Adani, the chairman of Adani Group, is the 17th richest billionaire, with a net worth of $84 billion.
Other names include Sun Pharmaceutical Industries founder Dilip Shanghvi, Aditya Birla Group's Kumar Birla and DLF's Kushal Pal Singh. Flipkart founder Binny and Sachin Bansal, along with Zerodha founder Nikhil Kamath also feature on the list.
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