China’s “Drone King”, Wang Tao, is the only Asian to break into the top 10 list of self-made billionaires under 40 years old.
The top 10 comprise senior executives from major Internet and technology companies, including Facebook, Uber, Snapchat, Airbnb and, of course, Wang’s DJI.
Wang Tao, also known as Frank Wang, the founder and chief executive of DJI Technology Co, is worth US$4 billion and ranks ninth on the list, released on Tuesday in the Hurun Report. He owns 45% of the company, which maintains a stranglehold on the consumer drone market.
Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and CEO of Facebook, tops the list as the richest young self-made billionaire, with a net worth of $58 billion. His wealth is six or seven times those of the second and third on the list, Dustin Moskovitz and Eduardo Saverin, who are also co-founders of Facebook.
The two youngest self-made billionaires are Bobby Murphy and Evan Spiegel, who are in their late 20s; the co-founders of Snapchat, they share a wealth of $4.9 billion. This multimedia mobile app that went public on the New York Stock Exchange in March became the world’s largest initial public offering in the first half of 2017.
Most young billionaires – 20 out of 47 – come from the United States, followed by China, which has contributed 18 young billionaires to the world.
San Francisco is the city most preferred by the young and wealthy, where 12 of these billionaires have settled. Beijing and Shanghai are also attractive, with 11 working and living there.
The average age of the 47 young and rich is 36. It took them seven years on average to make their first billion.