Who is Lucy Guo, richest self-made woman under 40 after Kylie Jenner? The wealthy tech CEO co-founded Scale AI with world’s youngest billionaire Alexandr Wang – and is neighbours with David Beckham
- At 27, Guo joins A-listers Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Maria Sharapova and Huda Kattan on Forbes’ Richest Self-Made Women Under 40 list – she’s worth US$440 million
- Before launching her start-up Moment, the Scale AI co-founder pursued the Thiel Fellowship by PayPal’s Peter Thiel and was Snapchat’s first female designer
But Wang isn’t the only one who’s making waves in the tech scene. His former co-founder, Lucy Guo, is also enjoying much-deserved recognition. Forbes recently named her as one of the richest self-made women under 40, ranking second after Kylie Jenner with an estimated net worth of US$440 million. Other stars on the list include Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Maria Sharapova and Huda Kattan.
Her parents did not want her to pursue a tech career
According to a New York Post profile, Guo learned how to code when she was in second grade. While some parents might encourage their children to pursue what they love, this was not the case for Guo, whose parents are both electrical engineers. Her mum in particular dissuaded her from entering tech, since it is difficult for women to be successful in the field.
But this did not stop the 27-year-old tech whizz. Guo eventually studied computer science at Carnegie Mellon but dropped out to pursue a Thiel Fellowship, founded by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. As per the fellowship’s website, it “gives US$100,000 to young people who want to build new things instead of sitting in a classroom”.
Before co-founding Scale AI, she worked at Q&A website Quora and would become Snapchat’s first female designer.