It’s not of out the norm for most teens to focus on school, their friends, hobbies, and even look for a part-time gig that can put some spending money in their pockets. There are also extraordinary kids who took their passion and side-gigs and made it into a successful startup. Here 25 of those kids who not only launched a successful business, but made millions of dollars doing so.
25 Kids that Made $1 Million Before Graduating High School
1. Ashley Qualls
At the age of 14 Ashley Qualls launched a website called whateverlife.com in 2014, which was designed to provide free Myspace layouts and HTML tutorials for people in her age group. The site was so popular that Qualls received a number of offers, such as $1.5 million and the car of her choice from an anonymous buyer.
2. John Koon
Believe it or not, John Koon opened the first auto parts businesses in New York City at just 16 years old. Koon made millions when the company, Extreme Performance Motorsports, became one of the main suppliers for the MTV reality show “Pimp My Ride.” He used his connections to start a clothing company alongside rapper Young Jeezy, which helped him earn a cool $40 million.
3. Cameron Johnson
In 1994, when he was just 9, Cameron Johnson launched his first business from his home, a greeting card company called Cheers and Tears. By the time he reached high school Johnson moved onto online advertising and software development, which earned him a monthly income of around $400,000.
4. Adam Hildreth
Adam Hildreth established his first company, Dubit Limited in 1999 when he was 14. The UK-based social network became one of biggest teenage websites in the UK and now markets itself as a “Youth Marketing Agency.” Hildreth is now the brains behind Crisp Thinking, which is a company specializing in online child protection technology for internet service providers (ISP’s).
5. Evan of YouTube
With the assistance of his dad, Evan was just 8-years old when he started his own YouTube channel, simply titled EvanTube, which simply review toys and discusses things that kids his are are into. The channel brings in about $1.3 million annually.
6. Juliette Brindak
At 10, Juliette Brindak began creating sketched characters, which then lead to a complementary all-girl tween and teen social networking site when she was 16. It’s estimated that her Miss O & Friends company is now worth an estimated $15 million, which is primarily through ads.
7. Tyler Dikman
Tyler Dikman started his own businesses when he just five. This has included everything from lemonade stands, mowing lawns, babysitting, and even a magic show business. By the time he was 15 he launched Cooltronics, a business that repaired computers, as a hobby. In just two years, which was in 2001, it became worth a million dollars.
8. Christian Owens
After teaching himself how to code in middle, Christian Owens started his first business at the the age of 14. With Mac Bundle Box, he was able to offer simple and discounted Mac applications packages after he negotiated with developers and manufacturers. He also founded Branchr Advertising.
9. Adam Horwitz
When he was just 15 years old, Adam Horwitz made it a goal to become a millionaire by his 21st birthday. After launching several start-up websites, Horwitz found success with Mobile Monopoly, which is an app that teaches users how to turn a profit with mobile market leads. He also started the text advertising service for businesses YepText.
10. David and Catherine Cook
David and Catherine Cook are the sibling masterminds behind MYearbook in 2005, which was a popular social media site based on where you went to school. In 2011, myYearbook merged with Quepasa Corporation and has been renamed MeetMe, Inc. It focuses on helping users discover new people to chat with on mobile devices.
11. Nick D’Aloisio
After learning how to code when he was 12, at 17 years old, Nick D’Aloisio designed an app, Summly an automatic summarization algorithm called Summly, which was sold to Yahoo for a mere $30 million.
12. Farrhad Acidwalla
This 16-year old founded the marketing agency Rockstah Media with $10 from his parents, which still attending in Mumbai, India. Acidwalla is now a multimillionaire, investor, and TedX speaker.
13. Maddie Bradshaw
When she was 10, Maddie Bradshaw wanted to decorate her locker. Since there wasn’t anything on the marker that interested she started to decorate soda bottle caps. Maddie became the founder and president of M3 Girl Designs, survived Shark Tank, and has authored a book titled Maddie Bradshaw’s You Can Start a Business, Too! Even though M3 became a multimillionaire dollar business, it appears that it was too much for the Bradshaw family and they have since closed-up shop.
14. Sean Belnick
Sean Belnick founded BizChair.com, one of the first online-only office furniture retailers, in 2001 with just $500. By 2005, the company was reporting $13.6 million in sales and is still turning a profit.
15. Ryan Kelly
Ryan Kelly is another kid who appeared on Shark Tank to secure funding for his dog treat bakery, Ryan’s Barkery. At just 11 years old he was able to strike a deal with Barbara Corcoran. The company is still operational, but has been renamed Ry’s Ruffery.
16. Isabella Barrett
After making a name for herself on the show Toddlers and Tiaras, Isabella Barrett launched her own jewelry and clothing lines – Glitzy Girl and Bound by the Crown Couture. Yep. She’s a nine year-old self-made millionaire.
17. Kiowa Kavovit
At just 6 years-old Kiowa Kavovit had the guts to appear on Shark Tank and pitch Boo Boo Goo, which paints a band aid onto the skin where the cut is. She was able to get a $100,000 investment and word is that the company is in negotiations with a major band aid company.
18. Fraser Doherty
At 14, Fraser Doherty began making jams using his grandmother’s recipes in Edinburgh, Scotland. By 16, he left school to work on his business full-time, which is called SuperJam. He has since founded Envelope Coffee and Beer52.
19. Mikaila Ulmer
This 11-year-old took her great-grandmother’s 1940 lemonade recipe, conquered Shark Tank, and now sells her “Me & The Bees” lemonade at 55 Whole Food stores in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Florida. She donates portions of sales to local and international organizations that are saving the honeybees.
20. Robert Nay
Robert Nay became an overnight sensation when he was just 14 through his app Bubble Ball. In fact, the game raked in $2 million in a mere 2 weeks. Rober still develops games under his company Nay Games.
21. Madison Robinson
At the age of 15, Madison Robinson created Fish Flops. Initially, the business only sold flip-flops with teen-centric designs, however, she started to include other apparel and a complementary app.
22. Jack Bonneau
Like many other kids, Jack Bonneau started selling lemonade when he 8. This Colorado native, however, took it to the next level by starting a business appropriately called Jack’s Marketplaces & Stands. The company other children entrepreneurs start their own stands by helping them obtain the proper insurance, permits and supplies.
23. Farrah Gray
Raised in Chicago’s South Side, Farrah Gray selling homemade lotion and hand-painted rocks door-to-door at the age of 6. He founded his first business when he was 13, Farr-Out Food, which totaled $1.5 million in order by the time he turned 14. Today, Farrah is also an investor, author, columnist, and motivational speaker.
24. Cory Nieves
Cory Nieves started Mr. Cory’s Cookies in 2009 as a stand that sold hot cocoa, cookies and lemonade. Unfortunately, it was shut down by the health department. What did this kid do? He legally incorporated his business, came-up with his recipes, and now is a stylish 10-year-old CEO.
25. Gabrielle Jordan
After founding, Jewelz of Jordan at the age of 9, Gabrielle Jordan has become an author, a public speaker, and a mentor for other kids who want to start their own business with the Excel Youth Mentoring Institute.
What These Kid Millionaires Have in Common
The kid millionaires on this list look wildly different on the surface, from a lemonade stand to a software algorithm sold to a tech giant, yet the patterns behind their success are remarkably similar. Almost all of them started young and started small, solved a problem they personally understood, and reinvested early earnings instead of spending them. Most leaned on a low-cost idea, a supportive adult, and relentless persistence rather than a big pile of startup cash. Understanding those threads is far more useful than memorizing the names, because the same playbook is still available to any motivated young entrepreneur today.
The common threads among teen millionaires
Three habits show up again and again. First, they turned a hobby or a frustration into a product, the same instinct behind our guide to turning side projects into legit businesses. Second, they began with whatever they could do at their age, much like the simple, real options in our roundup of ways for kids to earn money. Third, they treated early wins as fuel, reinvesting profit back into the business rather than cashing out at the first sign of success.
How a kid can start building wealth today
A young person does not need a million-dollar idea to begin; they need one small, sellable thing and a habit of putting earnings to work. Teaching a child to save and invest a portion of every dollar they make is where lasting wealth actually comes from, which is why it helps to start investing for your kids and to begin teaching kids about retirement planning early. For structured, age-appropriate business education, the nonprofit Junior Achievement offers free entrepreneurship programs, and the U.S. Small Business Administration’s business guide walks through the basics of registering and running a real company.
Key Takeaways
- Most kid millionaires started small with a low-cost idea built around a problem they understood firsthand.
- Reinvesting early profits, rather than spending them, is what turned modest side gigs into real companies.
- Supportive parents, mentors, and programs like Junior Achievement gave many of these kids an early edge.
- The fastest path for most young people is to earn, then save and invest a slice of every dollar consistently.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the youngest kid to become a millionaire?
Several entrepreneurs on this list became millionaires before their teens, including a few who appeared on Shark Tank around ages six to eleven. Exact ages are hard to verify because valuations and earnings are often estimated, but the takeaway is consistent: a genuinely useful product can succeed at almost any age.
How can a kid make a million dollars?
Most kid millionaires reached that level by building a product or service that scaled beyond their own time, such as a website, an app, a packaged product, or a brand. The realistic starting point is far smaller: pick a low-cost idea, sell to people you understand, reinvest the profit, and let consistency and compounding do the rest over years.
What businesses can kids start to make money?
Classic kid-friendly businesses include baked goods, handmade crafts, simple apps or websites, tutoring, pet care, and reselling. The best choice solves a real problem the child cares about, keeps startup costs low, and can grow with demand, exactly the pattern shared by the young entrepreneurs profiled above.
