Here's something wild: the number of self-made billionaires under 40 has just matched the all-time peak from 2021. The AI explosion is reshaping everything—not just tech, but the entire wealth landscape.

These aren't inherited fortunes or old money plays. We're talking about people who built empires from scratch, riding the wave of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the broader digital transformation. The fact that they're hitting record numbers again tells you something about how fast innovation is compressing the timeline to massive scale.

It's a reminder that in boom cycles like this one, the age of founders matters less than timing and execution. The AI wave has created an entirely new playbook for creating wealth quickly. Whether it's infrastructure, applications, or data services—there's room for fast operators to capture enormous value in very short timeframes.

The 40 richest young billionaires today represent a totally different breed compared to previous generations. Speed to scale, network effects, and first-mover advantage in emerging tech categories have fundamentally changed the game. This isn't just about money—it's about how disruption and technology are rewriting the rules of commerce.