Featured Image Credit: Instagram/Twitter
Topics: Elon Musk, Money, Twitter, Technology
Shola Lee
Alexandr Wang, 25, is the youngest self-made billionaire in the world – he's also a college dropout.
Wang went to MIT, which for anyone not familiar, is a highly-regarded university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, known for its maths, technology and science faculties, and which ranks among among the top universities in the world.
However, Wang dropped out by the age of 19, to start Scale AI, which would see him amass an incredible fortune.
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Now, you might not have heard of Scale AI, but you'll know the companies that use the service, it includes General Motors who make most of the cars you see in the states today.
Speaking of his passion project to Forbes, Wang revealed how Scale AI helps companies sieve through ridiculous amounts of raw data for greater insight into their customer base.
Scale AI's tech is also used by companies such as Flexport, and is being utilised by the US's army and air force to improve their own artificial intelligence systems.
"Every industry is sitting on huge amounts of data," the world's youngest billionaire affirmed.
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"Our goal is to help them unlock the potential of the data and supercharge their businesses with AI."
Scale AI initially started as a side project to occupy Wang during the holidays: "I told my parents it was just going to be a thing I did for the summer."
But, after the project became a screaming success: "Obviously, I never went back to school."
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Ah, the words students caught up in exam chaos could only dream of saying.
So, just how much is Wang worth? Well, a valuation of Scale AI last year put the company's worth at $7.6 billion. With Wang having a 15% stake, that would make him worth around $1 billion, making him the youngest self-made billionaire at 25.
Still, don't be deceived by his incredible net worth, Wang still has some pretty down-to-earth thoughts.
The billionaire recently tweeted: "The white shoes trend was definitely a plot by shoe companies to sell more shoes. And yes, I just got my white shoes dirty. And yes, I plan to buy an identical copy."
He's also a pretty big fan of fellow billionaire, and could-be Bond villain, Elon Musk.
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Wang said of the new Twitter owner: "The only thing in business (and life in general) I know to be truly anti-fragile (i.e. gains from disorder) is authenticity. @elonmusk is the master class in this. Founders – remember this in present times and markets. Be authentic. Focus."
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