10 of the US' youngest billionaires in 2026 — and how they got their fortunes
The Forbes 2026 list of America's 400 richest billionaires includes just 10 people under 40. Many owe their fortunes to the booming AI industry.
As of 2026, there are 10 billionaires in the United States under the age of 40, according to Forbes' annual list of the richest individuals in America. Of these young billionaires, seven of them amassed their wealth from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
Steven Hao, the co-founder and chief technology officer (CTO) of Cognition, is currently the youngest billionaire on the Forbes 400 list, with a net worth of $15.5 billion. Hao, along with three other founders of Anthropic, a leading AI company, is among those benefiting from the recent surge in AI investments.
Two of the youngest billionaires, Lukas Walton and Edwin Chen, inherited their wealth from family fortunes. Lukas Walton, the grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton, runs an impact-investing group called Builders Vision and chairs the Walton Family Foundation's environment program committee. As of 2024, the Walton family's combined net worth is an astounding $475.6 billion.
The other three youngest billionaires founded companies in the AI sector: Robinhood Markets Inc. (Vlad Tenev), Surge AI (Edwin Chen), and OpenAI (Greg Brockman). These young entrepreneurs have not only made their mark in the world of technology but have also pledged to donate a significant portion of their personal wealth to philanthropic causes.
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