The youngest billionaire in the world is 18-year-old Italian Clemente del Vecchio, Forbes reported. According to the new ranking of the richest people on the planet, del Vecchio’s fortune is estimated at $ 3.5 billion. In the status of the youngest billionaire, he replaced the German Kevin David Lehmann, who inherited a stake in the German pharmacy chain dm-drogerie.

Clemente is the youngest child of Leonardo del Vecchio, the founder of Luxottica, the largest eyewear manufacturer in the world (owns Ray Ban and Oakley brands, produces frames for Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Prada and Versace). Leonardo del Vecchio, one of the richest people in Italy, died in the summer of 2022. His heirs – seven children and a widow – received a stake in the Delfin holding, through which the businessman owned shares in Luxottica, the Generali insurance company, Mediobanca and UniCredit banks and the Covivio development company.

Clemente will turn 19 in May. It is not known about any role of the heir in the father’s business, Forbes USA notes.

In total, the new Forbes ranking included 15 billionaires aged 30 or younger. The wealthiest of them is 30-year-old Mark Mateschitz. He inherited a 49% stake in Red Bull after the death of his father, co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz. Shortly thereafter, the heir left his position in the company to “focus on the role of a shareholder”. Mateschitz’s fortune is estimated at $34.7 billion.

Most of the billionaires in the Forbes ranking are businessmen of the age. The average age of the list participant, according to the publication’s calculations, is 65 years. The oldest participant is the founder of the insurance company Mercury General, George Joseph, who will turn 102 in September.