At just 22 years old, Surya Midha has become the youngest self-made billionaire in history, surpassing the record previously held by Mark Zuckerberg, who first joined the billionaire ranks at age 23. According to Forbes, Midha is worth an estimated $2.2 billion, making him the youngest self-made billionaire ever to appear on the publication’s Billionaires List.

Midha co-founded Mercor in 2023 alongside childhood debate teammates Brendan Foody and Adarsh Hiremath. The three friends first met through competitive debate in California before turning their attention to artificial intelligence. After dropping out of Georgetown University, Midha helped build Mercor into one of the fastest-growing AI startups in Silicon Valley.

Mercor uses artificial intelligence to automate recruiting by interviewing candidates with AI, evaluating skills, and matching talent with companies looking for engineers, researchers, and other technical professionals. The startup’s rapid growth attracted major investors, and a $350 million funding round led by Felicis Ventures valued the company at $10 billion. Because each founder owns roughly 22% of the business, Forbes estimates all three now have personal fortunes of around $2.2 billion.

Despite the headlines, it’s worth noting that the founders’ billionaire status is based largely on Mercor’s private-market valuation, not cash in hand. As with many startup founders, their wealth is tied primarily to the value of their company and could rise or fall significantly as the business grows and future funding rounds or public markets determine its long-term value.