College dropout and AI entrepreneur Lucy Guo, co-founder of ScaleAI, reaches $1.3 billion net worth, surpassing Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and Selena Gomez on Forbes’ self-made billionaires list.
New York | June 5, 2025 —
Lucy Guo, a 30-year-old tech entrepreneur and co-founder of artificial intelligence company ScaleAI, has officially become the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire, according to the latest Forbes list. With a net worth of $1.3 billion, she has unseated pop icon Taylor Swift, who held the record since 2023.
Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area by Chinese immigrant parents, Guo picked up coding while still in middle school. She later dropped out of Carnegie Mellon University after winning the prestigious $100,000 Thiel Fellowship, which encourages young people to pursue entrepreneurial ventures instead of college degrees.
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Guo co-founded ScaleAI with Alexandr Wang at just 21. Although she was later ousted from the company after a fallout with her co-founder, she retained her 5% stake—a share that’s now worth hundreds of millions following the firm’s recent $25 billion valuation.
Despite her low-key public presence, Guo is known in Silicon Valley for blending intense work ethic with a lavish social life, challenging stereotypes of both tech CEOs and billionaires.
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Other Billionaire Women in the Spotlight:
- Taylor Swift (35): $1.6 billion
- Rihanna (37): $1 billion
- Selena Gomez: Estimated wealth in the hundreds of millions
- Kylie Jenner: Previously held youngest billionaire title (now re-evaluated)
With Guo’s rise, the tech world has once again proven its unmatched capacity to mint new billionaires—especially those willing to disrupt the system from a young age.
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Lucy Guo, ScaleAI, youngest female billionaire, Taylor Swift, self-made billionaire, women in tech, AI startups, Thiel Fellowship, college dropout success, Forbes billionaire list