Getting into the top ten: how Timur Turlov entered the ranking of young billionaires

In recent years, the world has seen an impressive increase in the number of young billionaires, especially in areas related to technology and investment. Forbes magazine annually publishes a list of the richest people under the age of 40 who have achieved success on their own. Timur Turlov, a representative of the CIS, also appeared in the most recent ranking among the most progressive entrepreneurs. He took the tenth place in this list, and his fortune is estimated at $ 5.9 billion. See the Izvestia article about how the founder of Freedom Finance achieved success and how this Forbes list has changed in recent years.

The path to success

Timur Turlov began his career in the stock market at the age of 16 as an intern at an American investment company trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Later, he worked in a bank, where he built customer access to the US market. At the end of 2008, when the financial crisis curtailed the investment division, Turlov and his team founded Freedom Finance, one of the first brokers to open access to American stock exchanges for private investors.

Since its foundation, Freedom has gone from a small brokerage startup to an international financial and technology holding company. Using market opportunities and introducing innovative solutions, Turlov was able to significantly expand the geography of the business. The most important stage was the launch of the Nasdaq stock exchange in the fall of 2019. Since then, the shares have increased in value by more than 10 times, and the holding's market capitalization exceeds $10 billion.

Freedom provides investors from Kazakhstan and other countries with access to the world's largest stock exchanges — NYSE, Nasdaq, London and Hong Kong platforms. One of the key advantages is the opportunity to participate in the IPO of promising companies, which makes global investments available to a wide range of clients.

The context of the world ranking of young billionaires

The Forbes rating, which includes Timur Turlov, reflects global trends in the world of entrepreneurship. In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in the number of young billionaires, especially in areas related to artificial intelligence and digital technologies.

According to the magazine, as of December 2025, there are 71 billionaires in the world under the age of 39 who have achieved success on their own. For comparison, in 2023, the number of such billionaires decreased to 34 people. At the same time, a record number of 71 people was recorded in 2021 amid the stock market hype caused by the Covid—19 pandemic.

Most of the young billionaire entrepreneurs earned their money in technology (48 people) or finance and investment (12 people). There are representatives of different countries among them, but a significant part are Americans (32 people). The list also includes citizens of China (8 people), India (6 people), Australia (3 people), Sweden (3 people), Canada (3 people) and other countries. Eight of them are women.

The combined wealth of young billionaires

Despite the impressive results of today's young billionaires, their combined wealth of $218 billion is half that of the 2021 group ($444 billion). Then the leader was Mark Zuckerberg, whose fortune was estimated at $97 billion. This shows that despite the general increase in the number of rich people, the distribution of capital remains uneven and the market is subject to fluctuations.

The business world is full of contrasts: along with bright successes, there are also dramatic failures. History knows many examples of both outstanding achievements and serious failures. Among the winners are such names as Sergey Brin, Michael Dell, Mark Zuckerberg. However, there are reverse examples: the founder and former CEO of Luminar Technologies, Austin Russell, was fired after an internal investigation, Sam Bankman-Fried from FTX is serving a 25-year prison sentence for organizing fraudulent schemes.

These cases show that the path to success in the business world is full of risks and challenges. The ability to adapt to changing market conditions, make informed decisions and respond promptly to new trends are key factors determining the fate of an entrepreneur.

The Forbes list clearly demonstrates that the younger generation of entrepreneurs has enormous potential and is capable of achieving outstanding results. In the context of globalization and digitalization of the economy, opportunities for growth and development are becoming more accessible, and innovative technologies are opening up new horizons for business.