- On December 3, Forbes debuted their Class of 2020 “30 Under 30” list, honoring a total of 600 young “revolutionaries” (30 each across 20 industries).
- The list included a number of Gen Zers, defined by the Pew Research Center as those born after the year 1996 who are 22 or younger as of the end of calendar year 2019.
- The youngest person on the list is 14-year-old Soleil Wheeler, best known for being the first female to join FaZe Clan, a popular esports organization.
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On December 3, Forbes released its latest 30 Under 30 list, highlighting the most influential young game-changers across various industries.
A sizeable portion of the 200 honorees are Gen Z, proving that young people aren’t waiting until they finish college to make an impact on the world. According to the Pew Research Center, Gen Z includes anyone who was born after the year 1996 and is 22 or under as of the end of 2019.
On this year’s Forbes list, one of the most notable Gen Zers is 20-year-old Katie Eder. Eder is the founder of Future Coalition, a non-profit advocacy organization made up of over 40 youth-led organizations, and has led climate change rallies across the US.
There’s also 19-year-old Phillip Youmans who, earlier this year, became the youngest and first Black American to win the Best Narrative Feature at the Tribeca film festival. He won with his film “Burning Cane,” which he wrote, directed, and produced during his last year in high school. Next, Youmans is set to direct a music video for “Hamilton” star Leslie Odom Jr.
Here are all the Gen Zers who made the list, in order from oldest to youngest.
All information about the honorees is sourced from Forbes unless otherwise noted.
Jharrel Jerome
Age: 22
Industry: Hollywood & Entertainment
Known for: Jerome portrayed Korey Wise in Ava DuVernay's hit Netflix show "When They See Us," about the young men known as the "Central Park Five" who were wrongly convicted of sexual assault and attempted murder. For his role, he won an Emmy Award, making him the first Afro-Latino and Dominican actor to ever do so.
Reese Cooper
Age: 22
Industry: Art & Style
Known for: Cooper is known for his eponymous clothing line, which he launched in 2016 with no formal training in fashion design.
Danya Sherman
Age: 22
Industry: Social Entrepreneurship
Known for: Sherman is the creator of KnoNap, a cocktail napkin that can indicate whether a drink has been laced with drugs or not, and serves as the company's CEO.
Rohit Kalyanpur
Age: 22
Industry: Energy
Known for: Kalyanpur is the founder of Optivolt Labs, a system that aims to use solar energy to power machines.
Scott Wu
Age: 22
Industry: Consumer Technology
Known for: Wu is the cofounder of Lunchclub, a service which uses Al technology for in-person meetings.
Nija Charles
Age: 22
Industry: Music
Known for: Charles worked as a songwriter alongside Beyoncé for "The Lion King" soundtrack.
Finneas O'Connell
Age: 22
Industry: Music
Known for: O'Connell cowrites hit songs with his younger sister, Grammy-nominated singer Billie Eilish.
Claire Coder
Age: 22
Industry: Social Entrepreneurship
Known for: Coder is the founder of Aunt Flow, a company that aims to make feminine products complimentary.
Lisa Qu
Age: 22
Industry: Art & Style
Known for: Qu is the CEO and founder of her namesake fashion line.
Matthew Asir
Age: 22
Industry: Law & Policy
Known for: Asir is the founder of The Legal Bullet, an organization which makes legal services affordable and accessible to immigrants.
Caroline Danehy
Age: 22
Industry: Manufacturing & Industry
Known for: Danehy is the cofounder of Fair Harbor, a company that aims to reduce plastic pollution in the ocean by turning plastic bottles into sustainable swimwear.
Tyler Bernstein and Jonathan Segal
Ages: Bernstein, 21; Segal, 22
Industry: Science
Known for: The two are cofounders of Zeno Power Systems, a company that is developing a system to safely turn nuclear waste into clean energy.
Paige Brown, John Dean, Kai Marshland
Age: Brown, 21; Dean, 22; Marshland, 22
Industry: Science
Known for: Brown, Dean, and Marshland are three of the cofounders of Windborn Systems, a company which builds weather balloons that are more durable than regular balloons.
Kyle Carberry, John Entwistle, Ammar Bandukwala
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Age: Carberry, 22; Entwistle, 21; Bandukwala, 21
Industry: Enterprise Technology
Known for: Carberry, Entwistle, and Bandukwala are cofounders of the company Coder, which seeks to improve the efficiency of software development.
Jeremiah Pate
Age: 21
Industry: Manufacturing & Industry
Known for: Pate is the founder of LunaSonde, a radar satellite system which can scan up to two kilometers underground.
Christian Pulisic
Age: 21
Industry: Sports
Known for: Pulisic joined the US national soccer team when he was 17 and is the youngest player to ever participate in a World Cup qualifier.
Lily Hevesh
Age: 21
Industry: Art & Style
Known for: Hevesh is a YouTube star who specializes in Domino art. She has over 800 million views on the social platform.
Charu Thomas
Age: 21
Industry: Manufacturing & Industry
Known for: Thomas created Oculogx, an augmented reality technology that makes order-picking in warehouses faster and more accurate. Oculogx customers include Walmart, Google, and Newell Brands.
Scott Xiao
Age: 21
Industry: Healthcare
Known for: Xiao is the cofounder of Luminopia, which is a startup focusing on children's healthcare.
Dominique McLean
Age: 21
Industry: Games
Known for: Known as "Sonic Fox," they won Best Esports Player at the 2018 Game Awards.
Benjamin Backer
Age: 21
Industry: Energy
Known for: Backer is the president and cofounder of the American Conservation Coalition, a nonprofit "dedicated to educating and empowering conservatives to re-engage on environmental conversations." The ACC was started by a group of young conservatives "who saw a gap in the conservative movement when it came to the environment."
Catharine Bowman
Age: 21
Industry: Healthcare
Known for: Bowman is the Board Director for the Alberta Lymphedema Association. She dedicated her life to lymphatic research after her mother developed secondary lymphedema as a side-effect of her cancer treatment when Bowman was young.
Myles Loftin
Age: 21
Industry: Art & Style
Known for: Loftin is a photographer for big brands such as Adidas and has shot editorals for the likes of New York and W magazines.
Nadya Okamoto
Age: 21
Industry: Law & Policy
Known for: Okamoto is the founder of PERIOD, the largest youth-led women's health organization that isn't government-run. The organization is currently working to end the "tampon tax," which refers to the fact that many feminine hygiene products are more expensive than other products that are considered basic needs.
Hunter Schafer
Age: 20
Industry: Hollywood & Entertainment
Known for: One of the youngest openly transgender women in Hollywood, Schafer began her career as a model for Dior and Marc Jacobs. Her acting debut this year on HBO's "Euphoria" led to critical acclaim for her leading role.
Katherine Nye
Age: 20
Industry: Sports
Known for: Nye is a weightlifter, notable for being the youngest American woman to win a world title.
Tom Schaar
Age: 20
Industry: Sports
Known for: Schaar landed the first-ever 1080-degree spin. He is also the youngest person ever to win a gold medal at the X-Games. Schaar is set to compete with the USA Skateboarding Team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Katie Eder
Age: 20
Industry: Law & Policy
Known for: Eder is the executive director of Future Coalition, an advocacy group made up of over 40 different youth-led organizations.
Nathan Chen
Age: 20
Industry: Sports
Known for: Chen is an Olympic figure skater who competed for team USA in the 2018 Winter Olympics.
King Princess
Age: 20
Industry: Music
Known for: King Princess is known for making music that reflects non-heteronormative experiences.
Joey King
Age: 20
Industry: Hollywood & Entertainment
Known for: King is best known for her critically-acclaimed and award-nominated portrayal of Gypsy Rose Blanchard in Hulu's "The Act."
Lil Nas X
Age: 20
Industry: Music
Known for: Lil Nas X's country-rap crossover "Old Town Road" has become one of the most streamed songs of all time.
Halle Bailey and Chloe Bailey
Ages: Halle, 19; Chloe, 21
Industry: Music
Known for: The sister duo is currently signed to Beyoncé's Parkwood Entertainment record label. In addition, Halle is set to play Ariel in Disney's upcoming live-action remake of "The Little Mermaid."
Rachel Zietz
Age: 19
Industry: Retail & E-Commerce
Known for: Zietz is the founder of Gladiator Lacrosse, a sports equipment company.
Phillip Youmans
Age: 19
Industry: Hollywood & Entertainment
Known for: At the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, Youmans became the first and youngest Black American director to win the narrative feature prize.
Asante Blackk
Age: 18
Industry: Hollywood & Entertainment
Known for: Blackk played Kevin Richardson in Ava DuVernay's Netflix show "When They See Us," about the young men known as the "Central Park Five" who were wrongly convicted of sexual assault and attempted murder.
Kyle Giersdorf
Age: 16
Industry: Games
Known for: Giersdorf is a Fortnite World Cup Solo Champion. He was the esports' first solo champion.
Finn Wolfhard
Age: 16
Industry: Hollywood & Entertainment
Known for: Wolfhard's breakout was his leading role in the Netflix hit "Stranger Things," but he's since launched onto the big screen, with roles in Stephen King adaptations "It" and "It: Chapter 2." He's also set to appear in the upcoming, highly anticipated "Ghostbusters" sequel.
Marsai Martin
Age: 15
Industry: Hollywood & Entertainment
Known for: At the age of 14, Martin became the youngest executive producer of a Hollywood film. Her film, "Little," grossed $50 million at the box office, according to Box Office Mojo.
Soleil Wheeler
Age: 14
Industry: Games
Known for: Wheeler, the youngest person on this year's Forbes 30 Under 30 list, became the first female player to join the FaZe Clan, one of the most notable esports organizations in the world.
