Youngest Brazilian billionaire in the world; know who she

Forbes magazine’s annual list of billionaires is out today. In it, Brazilian Livia Voigt, just 19 years old, appears as the youngest billionaire in the world. Livia Voigt is heiress and shareholder of Weg, a manufacturer of electrical and electronic equipment with more than 39 thousand employees and branches in 37 countries. The young woman’s fortune is valued at US$1.1 billion (R$5.5 billion). The amount comes from his 3.1% minority stake in the family company, according to Forbes.

Find out who Livia Voigt is

At 19, she is studying psychology at college and has no role in Weg’s operations. Livia’s sister, Dora Voigt de Assis, 26, also appeared among the ten richest young people in the world in 2024. Like her younger sister, she has a 3.1% stake and does not work for the company.

Split inheritance. Weg has 29 shareholders, most of whom are descendants of the founders — that is, they are part of the same family. Each of the members of the company’s founding family received a different share of participation in the company, according to Valor Investe, from the newspaper Valor Econômico.

Weg was founded in 1961, in the city of Jaraguá do Sul (SC), by Werner Ricardo Voigt —grandfather of Livia and Dora—, Eggon João da Silva and Geraldo Werninghaus.

In 2022, Weg had revenue of R$29.9 billion. The multinational’s first billion was earned in 2001. Each of the members of Weg’s founding family received a different share of participation in the company, according to Valor Investe, from the newspaper Valor Econômico.

In this year’s list, Livia beat Clemente Del Vecchio. The Brazilian is two months younger than the Italian, who is one of the six children of Leonardo Del Vecchio — president of EssilorLuxottica, the largest eyeglasses company in the world, owner of the Ray-Ban brand.

Also according to Forbes, the average age of the billionaires on the list is 66 years old. In this year’s ranking, the 25 youngest people cited by the magazine are up to 33 years old. The oldest person is 102 years old.

Young heirs. For the first time since 2009, all billionaires under 30 on the list inherited their fortune.