"A billion dollars isn’t worth what it used to be". J. Paul Getty said that back in 1957, when reaching the milestone was vanishingly rare and reserved for grey-haired titans of industry. Fast forward to 2025, and while it's still a staggering amount of money, a billion dollars is far more attainable. Needless to say, the age of the first-time self-made billionaire has plummeted, and the record keeps getting broken.

With this in mind, read on to discover how old some of the world's most notable billionaires were when they hit the magic number, ranked from oldest to youngest. 

All dollar amounts in US dollars.

Sir John Moores was a venerable 91 when he became Britain’s first confirmed self-made dollar billionaire, debuting on the inaugural 1987 Forbes Billionaires list with a fortune of between $1 billion and $2 billion, equivalent to between $2.9 billion (£2.2bn) and $5.7 billion (£4.3bn) today.

Unlike earlier British billionaires such as the Duke of Westminster, his wealth wasn't inherited. The son of a bricklayer, Moores founded and helmed the Littlewoods retail, mail order, and football-pools empire. A testament to the storied entrepreneur's legacy, Liverpool John Moores University is named in his honour.

Gilded Age oil magnate John D. Rockefeller was 77 on 29 September 1916 when newspapers across America declared him the world's first ever dollar billionaire. At the time, $1 billion was an almost unimaginable sum, translating to roughly $30 billion (£22.7bn) in today's money.

The breakthrough came after a surge in Standard Oil stock pushed up the value of Rockefeller's stake, sealing his place in history as the first reported member of the three-comma club.

Fellow US oil magnate J. Paul Getty likely reached a 10-figure net worth by 1957 when he topped the debut Fortune magazine rich list, with a net worth of up to $1 billion, which works out around $12 billion (£9.1bn) today.

That said, Getty wasn't entirely self-made, given he inherited both capital and industry access from his oilman father before dramatically scaling the family business into a global powerhouse.

Amancio Ortega is worth $124 billion (£94.1bn), placing him among the small group of global centibillionaires today. The world’s ninth-richest person according to the 2025 Forbes Billionaires list, he was in fact the wealthiest individual on the planet for brief periods in October 2015, September 2016, and October 2017.

The Spanish retail tycoon behind Zara parent Inditex became a billionaire in 2001, when the firm went public. As its largest shareholder, the IPO instantly handed Ortega a fortune of $6.6 billion, which is roughly $12 billion (£9.1bn) in 2025 money.

Henry Ford has been dubbed 'America's second billionaire', but the automotive pioneer could well have been its first since some historians argue that Rockefeller's wealth was exaggerated.

The man who brought the world the first mass-produced car attained a net worth surpassing the $1 billion mark in 1925, with his then-wealth equivalent to almost $19 billion (£14.4bn) today.

Martha Stewart became the world's first self-made female billionaire when her namesake media and merchandising company went public in October 1999. Forbes officially crowned her a billionaire in 2000 when $1 billion was worth the equivalent of $1.9 billion (£1.4bn) today.

Stewart's 10-figure status slipped as the firm's stock fell in the early 2000s. Then came her 2004 conviction for insider trading. A brief share rally while she was behind bars nudged her back into billionaire territory in 2005. But it didn't last. Despite making a stellar post-jail comeback, the lifestyle guru and entrepreneur has yet to regain the coveted status.

Investing legend Warren Buffett became a millionaire by the age of 32. He was 56 when he joined the billionaire club in 1986, when $1 billion had the purchasing power of around $3 billion (£2.3bn) today.

The Berkshire Hathaway boss rose to become the world's richest person in 2008. And while the retiring company CEO has since fallen away from the number-one spot, he nonetheless ranks an impressive seventh on the latest Forbes list, with a net worth of $154 billion (£117bn).

Robert L. Johnson made history in 2001 when he became the world's first Black billionaire, following Viacom's acquisition of BET, the TV network he founded in 1980.

At the time, Forbes pegged his net worth at $1.6 billion, which is around $3 billion (£2.3bn) today. Johnson has since lost his billionaire status, partly due to his costly divorce. Finalised in 2002, it cost him the equivalent of $722 million (£548m) in 2025 money.

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison became a millionaire at age 42 and reached billionaire status in 1993 at 49, which is late compared to today's tech titans. Back then, $1 billion had the buying power of $2.3 billion (£1.8bn) in today's money.

Now riding a surge from AI and cloud demand, Ellison ranks fourth on this year's Forbes list with $192 billion (£145bn), and held the title of world's richest person for a brief period in September 2025.

Born into poverty in rural Mississippi, Oprah Winfrey defied the odds to build a powerful media empire, breaking down barrier after barrier along the way. She became the first Black female billionaire in 2003, when Forbes pegged her fortune at $1 billion, around $1.8 billion (£1.4bn) today.

Now worth $3.1 billion (£2.4bn), the reigning 'Queen of All Media' remains the world's wealthiest female celebrity and a global icon of self-made success.

Jay-Z became the world's first billionaire rapper in 2019, hitting the milestone at 49, the same age Oprah achieved the feat.

With a fortune built on music, streaming, drinks, art and more, Forbes valued his net worth at $1 billion, about $1.3 billion (£988m) today. Jay-Z remains hip-hop's richest mogul, with a current net worth of $2.5 billion (£1.9bn), while his wife Beyoncé edges ever closer to billionaire status.

French tycoon Bernard Arnault joined the three-comma club in 1997 at age 48 with a fortune of $3.1 billion, translating to $6.3 billion (£4.8bn) today. While not entirely self-made, he almost single-handedly transformed LVMH into the world's leading luxury group.

Arnault became the world's richest person at the end of 2022 and held the top spot for stretches through 2023 and 2024, supplanting Elon Musk, only to lose it when LVMH stock tanked. According to the Forbes 2025 list, he ranks as the fifth-richest individual globally, with a net worth of $178 billion (£135bn).

Carlos Slim attained billionaire status in 1982 at age 42, when $1 billion had the buying power of $3.4 billion (£2.6bn) today. The Mexican telecoms magnate was the world's richest person from 2010 to 2013 by Forbes' reckoning, though he briefly returned to the top spot in 2014.

Slim remains Mexico’s wealthiest individual and, as of 2025, ranks the 19th-richest person globally, with an $82.5 billion (£62.7bn) fortune to his name.

Then aged 41, Elon Musk made his Forbes debut in 2012 with a net worth of $2.4 billion, about $3.4 billion (£2.6bn) today. The wealth of Tesla's controversial boss has since exploded.

Musk first became the world's richest person in 2021, held the top spot through much of 2022, and reclaimed it again from 2023, keeping the title largely ever since. In October, at age 54, he became the first person to surpass a $500 billion (£380bn) net worth, and soon after saw his $1 trillion (£760bn) Tesla pay package approved, the largest in corporate history by an immense margin.

After reaching millionaire status at 23, Richard Branson joined the 10-figure club in 1991 at 41, becoming the UK's then-youngest self-made billionaire. At the time, $1 billion had the buying power of $2.4 billion (£1.8bn) in 2025.

Having helmed hundreds of companies under the Virgin Group umbrella, from music labels to airlines, Branson remains very wealthy indeed. According to Forbes, the British entrepreneur is currently worth $2.8 billion (£2.1bn).

Steve Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 as a business manager and the firm's 30th employee, striking gold with a plum profit-sharing deal. It started paying off enormously in the early 1990s as the tech giant's stock soared. Ballmer made his debut on the Forbes list in 1996, with a net worth of $3.6 billion, around $7.5 billion (£5.7bn) today.

The tech exec ascended the ranks to serve as Microsoft's CEO from 2000 to 2014 and now focuses on philanthropy and the LA Clippers NBA team, which he bought the year he quit the tech titan. Ballmer still owns around 4% of the firm and is worth $118 billion (£89.4bn) according to the latest Forbes round-up, making him the world's 10th-richest person.

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss shot to fame after suing Mark Zuckerberg over claims he stole the idea for Facebook, a case that ended in a multimillion-dollar settlement. The twins invested part of that payout into Bitcoin as early as 2012, a bet that has proved wildly successful.

In 2017, the siblings became the world's first cryptocurrency billionaires at 36. Rather than the Facebook payout, it was their early, relatively modest investment in crypto that counts as the key source of their vast wealth, which currently stands at $4.2 billion (£3.2bn) each.

Jeff Bezos became a billionaire in 1998 at age 35, a year after taking Amazon public. His 40% stake was then worth $1.6 billion, roughly $3.2 billion (£2.4bn) today. Amazon's unstoppable growth in retail and cloud computing later propelled him to become the world's richest person from 2018 to 2021.

Bezos currently ranks third-wealthiest on the latest Forbes list, with a net worth of $215 billion (£163bn).

Taylor Swift officially joined the billionaire ranks in October 2023 at 33 years and 10 months, powered mainly by the record-breaking Eras Tour. For a time, the pop superstar held sway as the world's youngest self-made female billionaire, though she narrowly missed the all-time record by a matter of months, having lost out to another chart-topping artist.

Currently worth $1.6 billion (£1.2bn), Swift is among the few billionaires whose wealth stems primarily from music and touring.

In August 2021, at 33 years and six months, Rihanna was recognised by Forbes as the youngest confirmed self-made female billionaire, driven by Fenty Beauty, the cosmetics powerhouse she co-owns. The title had previously been attributed to Kylie Jenner, who was named a billionaire at 21 in 2019, a claim Forbes later retracted, alleging her team had inflated financial figures.

Rihanna's $1 billion fortune then is equivalent to $1.2 billion (£910m) in 2025 terms. She remains firmly in the billionaire club and ranks as Barbados' wealthiest person.

Bill Gates became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire in 1987 aged 31, not long after Microsoft's IPO, with a fortune of $1.25 billion, roughly $3.6 billion (£2.7bn) today.

The company co-founder went on to dominate the Forbes global rich list for 18 of the 24 years between 1995 and 2017. One of the planet's leading philanthropists, he has donated over $100 billion (£75.9bn) through his foundation. Even so, Gates remains among the world's wealthiest individuals, ranking 13th on the 2025 Forbes list, with a net worth of $108 billion (£81.9bn).

Michael Dell launched his eponymous computer company from his college dorm in 1984, aged 19. The business grew extraordinarily fast, and he debuted on the 1996 Forbes list with a $1.1 billion fortune, which is about $2.3 billion (£1.8bn) today, becoming the world's youngest self-made billionaire, beating Bill Gates' age record by six months.

Today, Dell ranks 17th globally on Forbes' 2025 round-up, with a net worth of $97.7 billion (£74.4bn).

Google co-founder Sergey Brin reached billionaire status in August 2004, just three days before turning 31, after the search-engine company's blockbuster IPO turbo-charged its valuation. The milestone made him the world's youngest self-made billionaire. His fellow founder Larry Page lost out on the record, given he's five months older. Page is richer, though.

In the 2025 Forbes round-up, he ranks seventh globally with a fortune of $144 billion (£109bn), while Brin sits in the eighth spot with $138 billion (£104bn).

Overtaking Rihanna and Taylor Swift to become the world's youngest self-made female billionaire, Lucy Guo reached the milestone in April 2025 at age 30, when Scale AI shot up in value.

The California-born tech whiz co-founded the AI firm in 2016 after dropping out of Carnegie Mellon University to pursue start-ups. Although Guo left the company in 2018, she shrewdly retained a 3% stake, securing her place among Silicon Valley's most prominent young tech billionaires.

At 29, Sam Bankman-Fried became the world's youngest crypto billionaire, storming onto the 2021 Forbes 400 with a $22.5 billion (£17.1bn) fortune, which later peaked at $26.5 billion (£20.2bn). But the meteoric rise was matched by an equally dramatic fall.

In 2022, Bankman-Fried's crypto empire FTX imploded, wiping out customer funds, erasing his personal wealth, and sparking a criminal investigation. In 2023, he was convicted of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy, and in 2024, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Once hailed as crypto's golden boy, the fraudster is now serving his time in a federal jail in California.

In 2020, then 28-year-old Ben Francis became the UK's youngest self-made billionaire when Gymshark hit a $1.45 billion (£1.1bn) valuation. It came after he sold a 21% stake to private equity giant General Atlantic, while retaining 70% of the company.

Now worth $1.4 billion (£1.1bn), Francis launched the workout apparel brand from his parents' garage in 2012 at 19, juggling college and pizza deliveries, before overseeing its jaw-dropping global expansion through clever social media marketing and other savvy moves.

In October 2025, Shayne Coplan became the world's youngest ever self-made crypto billionaire, taking the record from the disgraced Sam Bankman-Fried. Coplan's crypto prediction platform Polymarket, launched in 2020, lets users bet on sports, politics, crypto, and more. The leap came when Intercontinental Exchange invested $2 billion (£1.5bn) at a $9 billion (£6.9bn) valuation, making him a billionaire, courtesy of his 11% stake.

A college dropout, Coplan built Polymarket with backing from Peter Thiel, Vitalik Buterin, Joe Gebbia, Brian Armstrong, and Travis Kalanick.

Snap co-founder Evan Spiegel became a billionaire in 2015 at age 25 after a surge in the company's valuation, making him the world's youngest self-made billionaire at the time, though not the youngest on record. Back then, his stake was valued at $1.5 billion, about $2.1 billion (£1.6bn) in 2025 terms.

Spiegel created Snapchat with college friend Bobby Murphy in 2011, and the app rapidly became a craze among teenagers. The tech CEO, who is married to supermodel Miranda Kerr, is currently worth $2.7 billion (£2.1bn).

In 2008, Mark Zuckerberg became the world's youngest self-made billionaire at 23, taking the title from Michael Dell. Like Dell, Zuckerberg built his company from a college dorm before conquering the globe. Buoyed by Facebook's early success, he made his debut on the Forbes list with $1.5 billion, which is $2.3 billion (£1.8bn) today.

According to Forbes' 2025 round-up, the Meta CEO is now the world's second-richest person, boasting a fortune of $216 billion (£164bn).

Stripping Mark Zuckerberg of his 17-year record, 22-year-olds Brendan Foody (pictured), Adarsh Hiremath, and Surya Midha became the world's youngest ever self-made billionaires in late October 2025.

As confirmed by Forbes, the Gen Z co-founders of San Francisco-based AI recruiting platform Mercor reached 10-figure status after the company hit a $10 billion (£7.6bn) valuation, with each of the trio holding an estimated 22% stake.

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