A 30-year-old entrepreneur has overtaken Taylor Swift as the youngest self-made billionaire in the world, as stated in the latest Forbes list.
Swift achieved billionaire status, largely due to the success of her Eras Tour, which generated over $4 billion in revenue.
Remarkably, the singer’s tour earnings exceeded the annual economic output of more than 42 countries.
Forbes estimates Swift’s net worth at $1.6 billion, although she has recently been surpassed as the youngest self-made billionaire.
Lucy Guo, a tech mogul, has claimed that title with a net worth of $1.3 billion, according to the latest data from Forbes.
Guo co-founded Scale AI, a company in California that specializes in data annotation for artificial intelligence applications.
She left her computer science studies to pursue a fellowship, a decision that evidently paid off.
Guo was only 21 when she founded Scale AI with Alexandr Wang, who was 19 at the time, in 2016.
She managed the operations and product design teams at the company based in San Francisco, while Wang took on the role of CEO.
Despite accumulating significant wealth there, Guo eventually departed from Scale AI due to a reported disagreement with Wang over the company’s management.
“We had a difference of opinion but I am proud of what Scale AI has accomplished,” she shared with tech site The Information last year.
Nevertheless, Guo retained a five percent share in Scale AI, valued at approximately $1.2 billion, according to Forbes.
Guo’s substantial net worth not only comes from Scale AI but also from her other startup venture, Passes.
She expressed her thoughts on achieving billionaire status to Forbes via text, saying: “I don’t really think about it much, it’s a bit wild. Too bad it’s all on paper haha.”
Guo has shared that she had an ‘incredibly frugal’ upbringing and continued to ‘live cheaply’ into adulthood until she earned her ‘first $10 million’, as she told Fortune.
In 2023, Guo advised: “Be frugal and always live below your means.
“A lot of people up their lifestyles when they start making more money, which causes them to not save as much. The more money you save, the more you can invest, which compounds over the years.
“Your network is your net worth.”
Scale AI is nearing the completion of a process that will enable early employees and investors to sell shares to new or returning investors, as reported by Forbes.
This development could further enhance Guo’s financial standing in the future.