After inheriting stakes in German drugstore chain dm-drogerie markt from his aunt, Guenther Lehmann, Lehmann, 18, is worth $3.3 billion. According to Forbes' 35th annual billionaire's list, published on April 6, this is the case.
The leading drugstore chain in Germany, Dm-drogerie markt, is the source of Lehmann's fortune. It was founded in 1974. According to the company's website, it employs over 41,000 employees in over 2,000 locations around Germany.
Neither Lehmann nor his father is active members of the company, according to Forbes, and little is known about them. Dm-drogerie markt has been contacted for comment by Insider. Lehmann could not be contacted for comment on this story right away.
Wang Zelong, a 24-year-old Chinese billionaire, is ranked No. 2 among the world's youngest billionaires in 2021, with a net worth of $1.5 billion. Alexandra and Katharina Andresen, Norwegian sisters who are 24 and 25 years old and each worth $1.4 billion, are ranked third and fourth, respectively. They are both shareholders in Ferd, their family's multibillion-dollar investment company.
In comparison to the previous titleholder, the new youngest billionaire in the world maintains a low profile, with no discernible presence on any major social media site. Kylie Jenner, a reality TV star and fashion mogul, was named Forbes' billionaire of the year in the year 2020. Though Jenner, who is 23 years old, has dropped out of Forbes' billionaire list for 2021, she was controversially declared the world's youngest self-made billionaire in 2019 at the age of 21.
Forbes' list compiles data on the world's richest people based on stock prices and exchange rates as of March 5, and only includes those with net worths above $1 billion. According to the list, the planet now has 2,755 billionaires, which is the highest number ever.
Even after the pandemic year of 2020, the world's billionaires will be wealthier than they have ever been, though estimates of their cumulative profits differ. According to Forbes, the accumulated wealth of the world's billionaires rose by $8 trillion to $13.1 trillion. Meanwhile, a study from the Institute for Policy Studies found that between March 18, 2020, and March 18, 2021, the world's billionaires added $4 trillion to their income, which is significantly less than Forbes' calculation.
