Company founders, athletes and musicians can reach billionaire status over time. For some, this can happen late in their career or during the second or third act of their career.
Here’s a look at what age and how long it took some of the most famous billionaires to reach the impressive milestone.
What Happened: The world’s richest person is Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk, but his success didn’t happen overnight. Musk reached billionaire status at the age of 41 and is now worth an estimated $195 billion.
The ages of billionaires around the world have a wide range with some aged 19 making the list and others in their 90s.
A recent list from Twitter account Andrew Lokenauth highlighted the ages it took some of the world’s most prominent people to reach billionaire status.
Mark Zuckerberg (23): Facebook founder Zuckerberg is currently worth $99.2 billion, ranking as the 10th richest person in the world. As one of the co-founders of Facebook, now known as Meta Platforms Inc META, Zuckerberg became a billionaire when the company soared in valuation prior to its IPO.
In 2007, Zuckerberg became the youngest self-made billionaire at the time. Meta Platforms went public in 2012 leading to an increased wealth for Zuckerberg.
Bill Gates (31): One of the founders of Microsoft Corp MSFT, Gates has been a billionaire for decades as the technology giant is one of the highest-valued companies in the world. In fact, Gates became the youngest-ever billionaire back in 1987 at the age of 31.
Tiger Woods (33): Golf legend Woods became only the second athlete to ever be worth $1 billion by Forbes with the honor named in 2022. Woods has won more than $120 million in prize money while on the PGA Tour.
To hit billionaire status, Woods has seen his wealth gain over the years thanks to endorsement deals, including one signed with Nike Inc NKE back in 1996.
Related Link: 5 Things You Might Not Know About Jeff Bezos
Rihanna (34): Singer and entrepreneur Rihanna became a billionaire officially in 2021 with Forbes estimating her wealth at $1.7 billion.
Rihanna is the co-founder of Fenty, which is a collaboration with LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA LVMUYLVMHF. Rihanna’s 50% stake in Fenty along with a stake in lingerie company Savage x Fenty has helped Rihanna’s wealth soar above $1 billion.
Forbes currently estimates Rihanna is worth $1.4 billion.
Jeff Bezos (35): Founded as an online bookstore in 1994, Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN is now one of the world’s most valuable companies.
The company went public in 1997 and has soared in value, leading to Bezos being one of the richest people in the world. In 2020, Bezos became the first person in the world with a wealth of $200 billion.
Bloomberg currently lists Bezos with a wealth of $146 billion, ranking third in the world.
Mark Cuban (40): Entrepreneur and NBA team owner Mark Cuban sold his software consulting firm MicroSolutions at the age of 32 and made a $2 million profit. In 1999, Cuban sold audio company Broadcast.com to Yahoo! for $5.7 billion.
Today, Cuban is working to improve the high cost of health care and prescription drugs for consumers, alongside investing in new companies on “Shark Tank” and on his own.
Elon Musk (41): Many may be surprised to learn that the world’s richest person didn’t become a billionaire until the age of 41.
Tesla Inc TSLA went public in 2010 and has seen its stock soar in valuation over the last 13 years.
Musk first cracked the Forbes Billionaires list in 2012 with a wealth of $2 billion. Known best as the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Musk added ownership of Twitter to his portfolio in 2022.
Musk is now worth an estimated $195 billion. With Tesla stock at all-time highs in 2021, Musk was worth more than the valuation of every MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL team combined.
Oprah Winfrey (49): Known best as the queen of talk shows, Winfrey’s show ran on television for 25 years. Winfrey has launched her own production company, Harpo Productions, and a cable channel called OWN, which was sold to Warner Bros. Discovery.
Winfrey enjoys a wealth of $2.5 billion according to Forbes and ranks as one of the richest self-made female billionaires.
Jay-Z, aka Shawn Carter (50): In 2019, Jay-Z was named the first hip-hop billionaire by Forbes.
In the last several years, Jay-Z’s wealth has soared thanks to deals done by liquor brands he founded that he has sold stakes to beverage giants. Forbes lists the wealth of Jay-Z at $2.5 billion.
Michael Jordan (51): One of the greatest athletes of all time, Michael Jordan made millions playing the game of basketball.
Perhaps equally or more impressive, Jordan has thrived off the court with endorsement deals and team ownership to become the first athlete worth $1 billion. Jordan made $90 million during his time playing in the NBA.
Outside of basketball, Jordan has made billions in endorsements from companies such as Nike, Gatorade and Hanes.
The story of Jordan signing with Nike was even turned into a major motion picture, highlighting the unique royalty-heavy deal he signed as a rookie.
Warren Buffett (56): Now 92 years old, Buffett is one of the oldest billionaires in the world with a wealth of $146 billion according to Bloomberg.
Known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” Buffett is considered by many to be one of the greatest investors of all time. The Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A)(NYSE: BRK-B) CEO didn’t become a billionaire until the age of 56 and has been known to be a patient long-term approached investor, which also parallels his wealth.
In 2000, Buffett became the richest person in the world at $62 billion, knocking Gates off the top of the leaderboard after 13 consecutive years.
Read Next: 5 Things You Might Not Know About Bill Gates
Photo: Musk, public domain; All others, Shutterstock
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