Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the youngest Indian in Forbes list

New Delhi: Thirty-nine-year old Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma has been listed as the youngest Indian billionaire. While 92-year-old Samprada Singh, chairman emeritus of Alkem Laboratories Ltd, is the oldest, according to Forbes magazine.

“One of the biggest beneficiaries of India’s demonetisation Paytm has notched up 250 million registered users and 7 million transactions daily. Sharma owns 16% of Paytm, which is now valued at $9.4 billion,” Forbes said.

Sharma being on rank 1,394th, with a fortune of $1.7 billion, is the only Indian under-40 league. He had founded the easily accessible mobile wallet in 2011, along with Paytm Mall, e-commerce business and Paytm Payments Bank.

Only 63 out of 2,208 billionaires in Forbes’ 2018 list of the world’s richest, are under the age of 40 and more than half (34) are self-made entrepreneurs. The oldest billionaire, Singh, was ranked 1,867th on the list with a net worth of $1.2 billion. He had founded the Alkem Laboratories 45 years ago and worked in a chemist’s store before.

With agencies inputs