Revealed: The UK’s top ten youngest billionaires

Billionaires across the world are getting younger, while the youngest in the UK is aged just 32, a study finds.

Ben Francis, the co-founder of sportswear company Gymshark, has a net worth of £1.02bn and tops the charts for the top ten youngest billionaires in the UK.

The businessman has a 70% stake in the brand, which soared in value after his viral fitness videos on social media sparked huge popularity in the clothing gear.

Revolut creator Nikolay Storonsky is the second youngest male billionaire in the UK, aged 39 and worth £2.6bn. He founded the challenger bank in 2015 and has overseen the company shoot up in worth to an estimated £26bn.

On average, billionaires in the UK have fallen in age to 47 years old – a drop of 11 years since 2014, according to global spread betting company City Index.

One female in the table of the UK’s youngest billionaires

Men dominate the list of the youngest wealthy people, with Denise Coates, owner of betting company Bet365, the only woman to feature.

However, the 55-year-old is the second highest earner out of that group, boasting a net worth of £6.23bn, only topped by Michael Platt’s £12.61bn.

This followed a trend across the nation’s richest, as female billionaires had an average net worth of £4.24bn – over a billion pounds more than the average worth of their male counterparts.

Female billionaires were also younger, aged 66 years old compared to 68 for males.

Around the world, the collective worth of members in this super-rich club has also gone down, with their value dipping from $12.7tn (£9.9bn) to $12.2tn (£9.6bn) in 2022.

However, a separate Oxfam report last year found the number of billionaires doubled in just 10 years, as the richest 1% of people gained almost twice as much as the rest of the world combined.

Youngest billionaires are ‘a testament’ to the agility and innovation required in today’s markets’

Matthew Weller, an analyst at City Index, attributed the success of mega-rich entrepreneurs to a mix of “strategic investments, innovative business ventures, and navigation of global markets.

Weller added: “While Ben Francis claims the top spot among the UK’s youngest billionaires, closely followed by Nik Storonsky, the global billionaire landscape has seen a slight dip over the last year, with their collective net worth at $12.2 trillion, down from $12.7 trillion in 2022.

“Despite this decrease, these entrepreneurs showcase the resilience of the modern business world, navigating challenges and creating substantial wealth. Their success serves as a testament to the agility and innovation required in today’s ever-changing markets.”

Top ten youngest billionaires in the UK