8 CEOs Who Amassed a Fortune Before Age 30 (Infographic) Young, rich and brainy. It's an envious trifecta. Elon Musk fits the bill. Who else made the luxe list?

By Kim Lachance Shandrow • Mar 19, 2015

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Elon Musk was an early bloomer when it came to money. Before he co-founded PayPal and Tesla Motors, and before he helmed SpaceX, the eccentric engineer had already struck it rich.

Now estimated to be worth a whopping $11.9 billion, Musk made his first millions thanks to his Internet software company called Zip2. He quit grad school just two days into the curriculum to launch the venture with his younger brother, Kimbal, in 1995.

The scrappy, pre-dot-com bust startup, which clinched impressive contracts with The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune, curated an online "city guide" for the newspaper publishing sector. Compaq scooped up Zip2 in 1999 for $307 million in cash and $34 million in stock options. The tidy acquisition catapulted Musk into the millionaire club at the tender age of 28. Not bad for a computer geek who coded his first video game -- a fortuitously space-themed odyssey titled Blastar -- at only 12. By the way, he sold that game for $500.

8 CEOs Who Amassed a Fortune Before Age 30 (Infographic)

Image credit: Essay Expert

Kim Lachance Shandrow

Former West Coast Editor

Kim Lachance Shandrow is the former West Coast editor at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was a commerce columnist at Los Angeles CityBeat, a news producer at MSNBC and KNBC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times. She has also written for Government Technology magazine, LA Yoga magazine, the Lowell Sun newspaper, HealthCentral.com, PsychCentral.com and the former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Coop. Follow her on Twitter at @Lashandrow. You can also follow her on Facebook here.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Most Popular

See all

Side Hustle

Want to Start a Simple Business That Helps the Planet? After 'One Night's Worth of Research,' He Started an Eco-Friendly Gig And Now Makes $200K a Year

Environmentally-conscious laws are picking up steam across the country. When one went into effect in Zach Cavacas's home state, he saw a lucrative business opportunity. Chances are, a similar law is coming to your state, or is already there.

By Frances Dodds