The year 2020 has been an odd one. The world suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic with businesses needing to downsize or even closing for good. However, it also saw many businesses doing way better than expected, most of which capitalized on the pandemic.
Some rich getting richer and some just starting out
In a report released recently, 2020 was a year that was extremely good for certain industries and there has been a sharp increase of new billionaires across the world. Malaysia had 4 new billionaires added to this list but it must be the young ones that are taking the limelight. There are definitely richer people from 2020 onwards and one thing for sure, they are getting younger too! To put that in context, the youngest billionaire in the world currently is German Kevin David Lehmann who is only 18 years old.
What about Asian young billionaires?
In terms of number, China has the most for 2021 and that was very much expected considering their market size and business potential. Here are the top 10 richest young billionaires this year!
- Wang Ning (China) – Aged 34 and a net worth of US$6.3 billion, this billionaire’s fortune come from the toys industry. He is the CEO of Pop Mart that sells blind boxes of small figurines, a concept which has since taken the world by storm.
- Jonathan and Geoffrey Kwok (Hong Kong) – At the age of 29, Hong Kongese Jonathan Kwok’s net worth is US$2.4 billion where he is involved in the real estate business. He is one of the sons of the late Walter Kwok. Meanwhile, 35-year old Geoffrey is the oldest among them with a net worth of US$3 billion.
- Wang Zelong (China) – At 24 and a net worth of over US$1.5 billion, he is second among the youngest in the world in 2021. His wealth comes from his shares in the CNNC Hua Yuan Titanium Dioxide Co. which deals in chemicals, most notably titanium dioxide.
- Xu Yi (China) – With a net worth of US$3.4 billion, Xu Yi from China is the man behind Bilibili, a renowned and largest media and entertainment company from China. Bilibili is undeniably one of the biggest companies to have surfaced in the last decade with its video-sharing website that offers a wide range of content in games, animation and comics.
- Wen Yilong (China) – Aged 32, Wen Yilong’s wealth is at US$1.5 billion. This is the person behind the vaping brand RELX from China which has taken the world by storm since its launch.
- Timur Turlov (Khazakstan) – At age 33 and a net worth of US$2.1 billion, this billionaire from Kazakhstan is the founder of Freedom Holding, a retail brokerage company.
- Sam Bankman-Fried (Hong Kong) – This 29-year old billionaire from Hong Kong is second in this list where he made it through cryptocurrencies. His net worth is US$8.7 billion where he founded Alameda Research in 2017 before launching FTX.
- Wang Han (China) – Wang was once the youngest billionaire in 2015. His wealth comes from inheriting his shares from his father, the founder of Junenao Air. In 2021, Wang’s net worth is reported at US$1.1 billion.
- Christopher Kwok (Hong Kong) – Aged 35 and with a net worth of US$1.9 billion, his fortunes come from the real estate industry. He is the son of Hong Kong property tycoon Raymond Kwok.
